An 11-year-old girl in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, surprised some passengers aboard the No 2 bus when she gave a small red lantern to passengers who gave up their seats to the elderly or to mothers carrying babies.

Hao Jiaxin, the pupil, said she bought the lanterns with the money her parents gave her as a Lunar New Year gift.

"It's a reward for their virtue that more people should emulate," she said on Thursday.

As a pupil who goes to school by bus, she got the idea when she saw young people refuse to give up their seats.

(Yanzhao Metropolis News)