Members of the girls' soccer team at Siyuan Experimental School in Anyuan, Jiangxi province, acclaim Chen Sihan (in blue) as their best player. WILLIAM XU/CHINA DAILY 

Chen Sihan, from Anyuan, a small county in Jiangxi province, often gets up at 5 am on weekends to play soccer with friends, in addition to training for two hours on weekdays.

The slim, ponytailed 11-year-old is the best player on her school's team for girls. Having once scored four goals in a game, she would like to compete against stronger rivals, such as senior students.

Although she is fond of soccer, to Chen and her teammates, it's just an interest for the moment, and they would like to keep it that way. However, not every child on the Chinese mainland is so lucky.

Standardized soccer pitches and professional training for juniors are still relatively new in Anyuan, a mountainous area that was mired in poverty until two years ago, especially in its villages.

The Siyuan Experimental School, jointly built by the Yanai Foundation from Hong Kong and the Anyuan government in 2015, provides a stage for children to grow and develop.

In addition to reminding students to be grateful for the help they have received, the word siyuan ("remember the source") in the school's name highlights the mutual support between Hong Kong and Jiangxi, which are connected by an important river－the Dongjiang.

Located near the source of the river, which supplies the bulk of Hong Kong's fresh water, Anyuan and nearby counties have made many years of efforts, often at the expense of economic development, to protect the local environment.

Along with allocating resources annually to plant trees and conserve water, Anyuan has banned logging and mining in the area through which the river flows and also rejected hundreds of investment projects that failed to meet its environmental protection requirements.

Lai Jinshan, a 32-year-old ranger at Sanbaishan Mountain, a national forest park near the river's headwaters, inspects the surroundings on foot almost every day, irrespective of scorching heat or pouring rain. The intense schedule means he wears out three or four pairs of shoes every year.

Despite the advanced technology being used in the conservation efforts, a lot of work must still be done manually, he said. The forest always needs care and guarding, which is why he chose the job.

A view of the school. WILLIAM XU/CHINA DAILY 

Education and aid

As a thank-you for the efforts made by Anyuan and nearby counties, a group of social organizations in Hong Kong have helped local authorities develop basic education in the area. Education is of paramount importance in driving development, especially in the county's underdeveloped areas.

The Siyuan Experimental School is one result of the collaboration. The Yanai Foundation－a charity founded by Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist Michael Ying Lee-yuen in 2006 to support educational and medical projects on the mainland－has helped build hundreds of schools across the country.

It proposed building a public school that offers primary and secondary education in Anyuan, and donated 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) as initial funding.

Local authorities provided 70 million yuan to get the school operational in 2015.

In six years, the number of pupils has risen from 2,100 to 4,057, and the quality of teaching has topped other schools in the county for five straight years, according to Lu Hongsheng, the principal.

The school's design and facilities are not vastly different from those of city schools. It's not particularly spacious, but it has a soccer pitch, several basketball courts and dormitories for students and teachers, and the dining hall can accommodate 900 students.

Its teaching blocks have red and white ceramic tiles, with slogans written in both English and Chinese on the walls. Even the signboard at the gates is bilingual.

Lu said the school has grown rapidly as a result of the strong demand for education. To cope with the rising number of students, there are plans to build 20 more classrooms and a new teaching block by September.

Hong Kong's support plays a vital role in the school's development, the principal said, adding that "without the initial funding from Hong Kong, it could not have been built".

The foundation paid the bill for the campus designer and sponsored about 100 teachers to study and undertake exchange programs with schools in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangdong province. They laid the foundations for future operations.

The founding of the school reflected a growing emphasis on education in Anyuan. To drive long-term development, local authorities are focusing on improving the quality of education, especially by installing better teaching facilities.

The county authorities also invested top-level resources and facilities in building the campus, even giving it a higher priority than the construction of government offices, according to Lu.

In 2018, local resident Sun Jinling sent his daughter to the school because the study environment is better than the one at the primary school the girl attended the previous year.

He said the young school has caught up with other better established first-class local schools in a short time. He also rated the campus design and facilities as being better than many other establishments in Anyuan.

Students attend a class at the school in May. WILLIAM XU/CHINA DAILY 

Conditions to grow

The school offers the conditions for Sun's daughter, who is a fourth grader, to harness her interests.

Inspired by animations, the 9-year-old is fond of playing soccer and joined the school team last year, attending training almost every day.

Although Sun said he doesn't understand his daughter's passion for a sport he finds more suitable for boys, he still supports and accompanies her to training. His only hope is that his little girl will grow up healthy.

Guo Min, a 23-year-old local, joined the school as a Chinese language teacher this year. She studied at a university in Jilin province－a bigger place with more employment opportunities－but returned home after graduation.

She said her job is fulfilling and she thinks the school has huge potential. The young teacher said many of her friends also teach at the school and are happy with their jobs.

Sun grew up in the foothills of the Sanbaishan Mountain, so he has understood the importance of protecting the Dongjiang River since he was a child. His daughter studies at the school that was built in return for the local people's endeavors to protect the river, and that bond has resulted in mutual support, he said.

Anyuan's residents did not expect anything in return for their dedication, but their actions have echoed loudly in the hearts of the people they have helped, and they have been treated with kindness and warmth in return.

CHINA DAILY

CHINA DAILY