It was a dream come true for Yao Qizhong when his book Diary of a Ginger Vendor was published in March.

The 40-year-old Fuyang native, from Anhui province, was no different from other migrant workers who hailed from all over China to work in Beijing. But he became a media sensation in 2012 when he wrote a 200,000-word book about his life.

The book, published by Beijing TimesChinese Press, is a memoir about Yao's poverty-stricken childhood and his life as a migrant worker in Beijing after 2002.