Scalpers snap up local paper after profile on Fields winner Wang Hong goes viral

Copies of the official paper of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China are not usually a hot commodity.But the Saturday edition of Guangxi Daily became an overnight collector’s item after its front-page story on Wang Hong – who last week received the prestigious Fields Medal alongside her compatriot Deng Yu – went viral online.Wang, who hails from the southern region, took home the highest honour for mathematicians under the age of 40 on July 23. Both awardees, the first Chinese nationals to win the prize in its 90-year history, have become instant celebrities.On Wednesday, Guangxi Daily said it had arranged for a reprint of the Saturday edition and made it available to buy online after receiving countless messages asking where it could be bought. While the paper did not say how many copies of the Saturday edition it sold, it reportedly has a circulation of 250,000.The cover story chronicled Wang’s life, beginning in her picturesque hometown of Guilin.It described how her parents, who taught maths and English at a local secondary school, brought her into the worlds of maths and languages and cultivated a “pure land” in which she could explore her interests.