PHOTO / CHINA
Two teachers devote their lives to a remote mountain village
By Xinhua Published: Sep 14, 2026 08:56 AM
Pan Xianfeng (L, back) and Peng Hanping (R, back) wave goodbye to students after school at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026. Deep in the mountains on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Wuying Village is far from the township central school. To solve the problem of children having to travel long distances to school, the Wuying teaching site has been retained to this day. This semester it has only two teachers, 56-year-old Pan Xianfeng from Guizhou and 29-year-old Peng Hanping from Guangxi, and 10 students, making it a micro-primary school. Due to its remote location and harsh conditions, few teachers are willing to teach here for long. Pan applied to transfer here in March 2020 from a better-equipped rural school in Guizhou and Peng followed in September 2023 from a Guangxi primary school. The two, from different provinces and belong to different generations, work in close coordination to keep the school running. Beyond the classroom, they have volunteered at the village night school, teaching local residents literacy and Mandarin, broadening their perspectives and paving way for better livelihoods. Even with only one student, the teaching site must continue, Pan said firmly. Peng added, It is all worthwhile so long as the children can go to school nearby, no matter how difficult the work gets. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Pan Xianfeng (L, back) and Peng Hanping (R, back) wave goodbye to students after school at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026. Deep in the mountains on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Wuying Village is far from the township central school. To solve the problem of children having to travel long distances to school, the Wuying teaching site has been retained to this day. This semester it has only two teachers, 56-year-old Pan Xianfeng from Guizhou and 29-year-old Peng Hanping from Guangxi, and 10 students, making it a "micro-primary school." Due to its remote location and harsh conditions, few teachers are willing to teach here for long. Pan applied to transfer here in March 2020 from a better-equipped rural school in Guizhou and Peng followed in September 2023 from a Guangxi primary school. The two, from different provinces and belong to different generations, work in close coordination to keep the school running. Beyond the classroom, they have volunteered at the village night school, teaching local residents literacy and Mandarin, broadening their perspectives and paving way for better livelihoods. "Even with only one student, the teaching site must continue," Pan said firmly. Peng added, "It is all worthwhile so long as the children can go to school nearby, no matter how difficult the work gets." (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)


Pan Xianfeng (R) and Peng Hanping (back) teach students at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, March 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

Pan Xianfeng (R) and Peng Hanping (back) teach students at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, March 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)



Students learn to dance at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Students learn to dance at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)



Peng Hanping helps a student tie her hair at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 3, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Peng Hanping helps a student tie her hair at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 3, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)


Pan Xianfeng (1st L) and Peng Hanping (1st R) pose for a group photo with students at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Pan Xianfeng (1st L) and Peng Hanping (1st R) pose for a group photo with students at the Wuying teaching site in Wuying Village on the border between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 4, 2026.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)