China's trashanova, the most handsome trash picker

You don't see this everyday-- a lowly garbage picker in Chengdu has captured the hearts of young girls, netizens, and the press. The story, picked up from the Chengdu Shangbao and translated by GoChengdoo, caught fire after someone posted a picture of the ragamuffin on the net. The rest is a testament to the incredible viral power of the Chinese internet community.

From GoChengdoo:

The post immediately caused a stir among netizens: "He's even wearing gloves, how professional!" "Hello! Handsome!" and even that classic line from Stephen Chow's movie was used by netizens to describe his appearance: "A man man like you, just like fireflies in the dark, as bright as that, as numerous as that, you with your eyes so sullen, with the air of one breath you betray yourself."

One moment, the netizens were discussing the authenticity of the post; the next, they were commenting on the identity of the trash-digger. Some believed this "handsome brother" is really living life, others believe it's completely disgusting, but most said that if this person is really a scavenger depending on his own two hands to make money, he can't be faulted. "Labor is honorable, just because one is handsome he cannot scavenge?!"

Liu, the trash casanova, is a twenty five year old from Ningxia who collects trash to pay for his travels around China. Just from collecting bottles and random odds and ends, he has made enough to feed himself and pursue his dream of seeing and walking around every place in the country. What a romantic vagrant! When reporters and netizens finally found Liu, he was coquettishly modest:

When he heard that netizens had dubbed him "The Most Handsome Trash Digger of All Time," he said with a smile, "People have told me I'm good-looking, but I'm just a trash digger, how embarrassing!" Liu said he depends on his own two hands to make a living, he does what he wants to do, it's a lot better than depending on his family.

We absolutely love vagabonds, especially the attractive ones. Still, we're pretty surprised that a story like this can happen in a place like China where social status is a precursor to attractiveness.

Shanghaiist wishes him luck pursuing his dream: we hope that in his travels, Liu can figure out a way to jump on some freight cars, pick up playing the washboard, and maybe even steal a cooling apple pie off a windowsill somewhere.