Zeng Qingming teaches English at Pengdang Township Center School in Gongshan county, Yunnan province. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

At Pengdang Township Center School in Gongshan county, Yunnan province, a middle-aged English teacher gained great attention among the school's students over the past few months after he arrived from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, a far more prosperous region that is located 3,000 kilometers away.

Gongshan county is under the jurisdiction of Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture, one of the most underdeveloped localities in China. More than 90 percent of its local residents are members of ethnic minority groups.

The 54-year-old Zeng Qingming was a senior-level teacher at Wenzhou Experimental Primary School. At the beginning of this year, he joined an educational assistance program for Nujiang, which was organized by the Ministry of Education. Among the volunteer teachers in the program, he was the only one from Zhejiang.

At Zeng's personal request to be dispatched to the remotest school with the worst teaching facilities, the program organizer designated Zeng to be vice president of Pengdang Township Center School. The primary school, which is located in a remote valley and is surrounded by mountains, is attended by over 500 students from 20 ethnic groups.

Although Zeng was not required to teach classes at all due to his role as school manager, he volunteered to give English lectures and spent as much time as possible with students to gain first-hand teaching experiences there.

Zeng soon realized that local students not only lacked formal training in English, but also knew little beyond the school's textbooks. Most of the students had not even heard of Zhejiang as a Chinese province. As a result, Zeng focused on stimulating students' interest in learning English, as well as opened a special class centered on geography.

During his stay at the school, Zeng lived in an unadorned dormitory room on campus and suffered from chronic knee-joint pain induced by the wet and cold weather there.

Zeng recently returned to Wenzhou following the end of the school year. While he has completed his voluntary service for the education assistance program, Zeng is writing application letters to relevant agencies in hopes of continuing his voluntary service in Gongshan, where he believes he can give more back to society.

Zeng Qingming gives a speech at Pengdang Township Center School in Gongshan county, Yunnan province. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]