It's a Chinese fairy tale: a poor migrant wins the lottery. Now he can pay for his daughter's leukemia treatment.

The habit of buying welfare lotteries every week finally paid off for the Jiangxi Province native surnamed Fang, who won 5 million yuan (US$617,284), just when he couldn't raise enough money to treat his daughter suffering from leukemia and in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Fang bought a lottery ticket last Wednesday by choosing the number of his daughter's birthday and her bed number at the hospital.

Two days later, he was ecstatic when he found out that he won the first prize.

When he cashed out the lottery yesterday at the lottery center, he donated 20,000 yuan to a special fund helping disabled people in the city.

"It is the welfare lottery that has saved my family. I hope I can do something for other needy people, because I know what 'help' means to them," Fang said.

The man, together with his wife and daughter, moved to Shanghai four years ago, and began to work in a wet market in Changning District.

Since then, he regularly bought welfare lottery tickets.

Just when the family was able to save some money, the daughter was found to be suffering from leukemia in May. As the family couldn't afford a bone marrow transplant, the daughter could only receive chemotherapy.

The family has spent over 100,000 yuan over the past few months.

(Shanghai Daily October 25, 2005)