Web users pick China's local heros

BEIJING - China's web users have selected a total of 10 individuals and groups as their grassroots heroes for the fourth quarter of 2013.

Initiated and sponsored by Xinhua News Agency, netizens selected the heros via the official website, microblogs or mobile applications.

The heros include a father and a son, Shen Kequan and Shen Changjian, who tried for more than 1,000 times to cultivate high-quality rapeseed varieties.

Other winners include Liu Daming, who has osteogenesis imperfectness and is regarded as the "Chinese Hawking."

Although he has been through 11 major operations, Liu has won 12 national level literature prizes and is the youngest writer under contract to the People's Publishing House, a national level publisher.

The vote, held since 2010, is conducted quarterly to promote ordinary people's good deeds and improve moral awareness.