Zhang Xinyang (in red), the youngest postgraduate student in China, shares his experiences with children from quake-hit areas, in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. [Photo: Yangtse Evening News]

A 12-year-old boy recently became the youngest student in China to pursue postgraduate studies in math, Yangtse Evening News reports. The little genius, who is determined to break new ground in the field of mathematics, passed the entrance exam for a master's course at the Beijing University of Technology.

Zhang Xinyang is currently in his third year of graduate studies in Tianjin Engineering College with a major in mathematics and applied mathematics.

Born in Panjin city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the whizkid entered primary school at age 5. Three years ago, Zhang Xinyang became the youngest college student in China after getting enrolled into Tianjin Engineering College. He was 10 years old at the time.

In less than three years, Zhang Xinyang completed all his coursework as well as his final thesis.

Professor Zhang Yuehui, one of the two teachers assigned by Tianjin College to supervise the development of the prodigy, told Yangtse Evening News that he had superior IQ, logic and memory, was also capable of organizing his own studies.

The professor said Zhang Xinyang was a hardworking student who also read books that went beyond the scope of his studies. He turns 13 on July 8 this year.

(CRI English June 12, 2008)