Seven decades of Inner Mongolia: China’s development through our eyes (4)

“The Mongolian language is our cultural root, Mandarin represents our identity as Chinese, while English makes our students international citizens, our children will lead Inner Mongolia to a brand-new era.”[Photo by Tanja Herko]

Kangxima, 52, headmistress of Jarud Mongolian Primary School

Located in Tongliao, a city that has the largest Mongolian population in China, Jarud Mongolian Primary School is one of the 109 local schools that feature traditional Mongolian culture, as well as using Mongolian as their primary teaching language.

Though traditional Mongolian culture has always been a compulsory course at school, Kangxima invited cultural experts to develop a systematic teaching module for the students. From 2005, Kangxima and her colleagues began researching Mongolian culture, as well as designing a professional course for the students.

"As a Mongolian myself, I know how important it is to preserve our traditional culture, especially nowadays, when market-oriented popular culture prevails among the young generation," said Kangxima, headmistress of Jarud Mongolian Primary School.

For more stories about Kangxima: Cultural inheritors on the grassland: traditional art thrives in Inner Mongolian schools