Episode Details

In China's remote northwestern border region, just 47 kilometers from the frontier, there is a small primary school that has a 23-member volunteer teaching team.

With an average age of 24, these young educators have dedicated their youth and passion to the rural school in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where most of the students are from the Kirgiz ethnic group.

Wang Yizhi, a graduate of Shanxi Agricultural University, is one of the volunteers and now teaches Chinese to second-graders. After working at the border region school for two years, Wang said that she has witnessed firsthand how volunteer teaching has changed local education and promoted ethnic unity.

That was why she recently wrote a heartfelt letter to President Xi Jinping on behalf of her team, detailing their experiences when serving at the primary school in Karajol township in Artux, a city in the Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture, while reaffirming their commitment to serving in border areas.

The volunteers were overwhelmed when they received a reply from Xi on Saturday — an unprecedented honor that filled them with immense pride and motivation.

In the message, Xi noted that more young people have chosen to serve as volunteers in the country's western regions and rural areas over the years, demonstrating their spirit of dedication and sense of responsibility. He also called on China's young people to dedicate themselves to the country's modernization drive by serving where the nation needs them most.

"We never imagined receiving such a prompt and direct response from the president, due to his busy schedule," Wang recalled, her voice trembling with emotion.

"I may not be able to do much," she added, "but I'll give it my all" — a promise that embodies the unwavering commitment she has held from the beginning.

According to Wang, there are over 290 students at the school, and most are the children of border patrollers, herders or farmers.

At the beginning, the children faced significant educational challenges, and many parents undervalued formal schooling, resulting in frequent absences, she said.