A Chinese newborn survived being buried alive for two hours after her parents believed she was stillborn.

The baby's grandmother buried her after the mother went into premature labour in Dongdong, Liaoning Province.

Lu Xiayun was farming when she felt a sharp pain and went into labour. Her husband, He Yong, rushed home from work and found what he thought was a deceased baby in a pool of blood. The couple believed Lu was four months pregnant, and that the baby was stillborn.

Emergency responders called to the scene asked for the baby, but He told them that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. Lu was taken to the hospital, and her mother buried the baby under a tree in the backyard.

At the hospital, doctors insisted on viewing the newborn to confirm the death, and He went home to retrieve the body. Reportedly shocked that the baby had already been buried, he dug up the newborn and discovered that she was breathing.

The baby was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered that Lu had been six months pregnant, not four months. Despite being underground for two hours, the baby girl survived.

After three days in the hospital, the baby was discharged because the family could not continue to pay the hospital bills. "My mother-in-law has chronic diseases and I also have a 7-year-old daughter," He said. "My wife doesn't have a job. I am the only one who works."

After the family's story was picked up internationally, donations poured in for the miracle baby. She was taken back to the hospital for further treatment, and is currently in an incubator. Doctors say her condition is improving.

Chinese media report that there is no evidence that the baby's quick burial was due to her gender. Last year, China relaxed its one child per couple policy, allowing parents without siblings to have two children.