Primary school student falls asleep on the subway and misses 23 stops, wakes up at the airport; school jokes he still doesn’t know he’s trending

(Guangzhou, Jan 1) A primary school student in Guangzhou has gone viral after falling asleep on Metro Line 3 while heading to school and missing his stop by 23 stations—only to wake up at the airport.

According to Guangzhou Daily, the incident happened on Monday (Dec 29). A woman surnamed Wang, who was taking Line 3 to Baiyun Airport, noticed a schoolboy asleep in the aisle. When the train reached the terminal station, Airport North, the child still hadn’t woken up. Wang woke him and learned he had intended to get off at Hanxi Changlong, but slept through his stop and continued all the way to the airport.

Wang later posted a video online showing the groggy student answering questions about where he was supposed to alight. The clip quickly spread and reportedly climbed to the trending topics list on Dec 31.

Netizens calculated that the ride from Hanxi Changlong to Airport North crosses several districts and can take more than an hour. Some commenters also identified the student’s school based on his uniform.

In the comments, an account claiming to be “Canada Foreign Language School” posted a humorous message saying the school had come to “retrieve” the student, joking about applying for a “late-free pass” and a “small pillow,” while thanking Wang for helping—otherwise they would have had to “retrieve him at the airport.” The response drew many likes.

A staff member from the school later confirmed the boy is indeed a student there and said he returned safely to campus the same day and is doing fine. The staff member added that the student “still doesn’t know he’s gone viral,” and declined to share further details for privacy reasons.

Public information shows the school is in Panyu District near Yuangang Station on Line 7. Returning from Airport North would require traveling back to Hanxi Changlong, transferring to Line 7, and then riding two more stops—about 90 minutes in total. While many online treated the incident lightheartedly, others urged parents and schools to pay closer attention to commuting safety for younger students.