'Mom principal' Zhang Guimei: I send them out of the mountains, and they keep me in the world

Over the past 10 plus years, Zhang Guimei has guided more than 2,000 girls out of a mountainous area into universities and a broader world.

As the principal and a teacher of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, Zhang is more like a mother figure to the girls in this school.

Students in Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, dance during class-break setting-up exercises in Huaping county, Lijiang city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Faxing)

"Make sure all girls in the mountains have access to education"

The Huaping Senior High School for Girls, located in Huaping county, Lijiang city, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has a clean and tidy campus nicely decorated with lush flowers and green vegetation.

The school's motto "Strong, Diligent, Generous, Kind, Polite, Unpretentious" is prominently fixed to the front of the teaching building.

It is hard to imagine that over 10 years ago, this place was a barren mountain.

"The teaching building was built after clearing the mountain, and a deep ditch was filled in to create the playground where the children play," Zhang said.

Photo shows the teaching building of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, in Huaping county, Lijiang city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Liu Wei)

Established in 2008, the school once faced a difficult situation at the initial stage of its operations. Due to the harsh environment and students' fragile academic base, many teachers resigned and left the school within one month, and the students suffered from low morale, Zhang recalled.

"I was almost desperate at that time," she said.

A turning point came from a chance discovery. As she organized all the teachers' profiles, Zhang found that out of the eight teachers who stayed, six were members of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The discovery gave Zhang confidence.

She then gathered the teachers and reviewed with them the oath CPC members take when they join the Party, and sang soul-stirring and heartening songs like "Ode to Heroes" and "Ode to the Red Plum Blossoms" with students, effectively arousing the sense of mission in teachers and inspiring the entire school to forge ahead with the strength of faith.

In 2011, all 94 students from the school who participated in the country's college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, were admitted to universities.

This further strengthened Zhang's original intention of running a girls' senior high school: to make sure that all girls in the mountains have access to education and to guide girls toward a bright future through education.

Zhang Guimei, the principal of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, checks student meals at the school. (People's Daily Online/Zhuang Zhibin)

In an effort to help more impoverished students receive a school education, Zhang has embarked on a long journey of home visits, knocking on doors one by one to persuade families, saying, "We don't charge a penny for senior high school" and "Just bring your junior high school exam registration number and you will be enrolled."

Despite mobility difficulties due to illness, Zhang persisted in walking, riding motorcycles, and even horses on rugged mountain roads to visit students.

During this period, she broke her ribs twice and fainted from exhaustion while in the process of bringing back girls who dropped out of school due to various difficulties.

Today, the situation of inaccessible roads and water in the local mountains has improved, and local girls and families are more confident and joyful, which is the most gratifying change Zhang has seen during her many years of home visits.

"I told students that the roads are now accessible, and they no longer have other worries, so it's time to study hard. They said, 'Teacher, I know. I will study hard so as to build roads for others in the future,'" Zhang recalled.

"I like it best when the children call me 'mom.'"

"Girls, wake up!" "Get moving, be active!" "Remember the spirit of our school: Be indomitable and tenacious"... With a small speaker in her hand, Zhang always awakens a new day at Huaping Senior High School for Girls.

She has devoted herself to the school, working wholeheartedly from 6 a.m. to midnight to accompany students for morning reading, classes, class-break setting-up exercises, and meals.

In addition to their studies, Zhang also pays great attention to the girls' physical and mental development.

"Not just textbook knowledge, we need to help them learn all kinds of good behavioral habits and learn them quickly. In order to keep up with the times, we also need to learn about various 'trends,'" she said.

During the class-break setting-up exercises of the school, several hundred girls joyfully dance fashionable dances, and sing heartening songs in unison.

"At first, they were off-key no matter what they sang. I thought, I can't let them go to college still unable to carry a tune. So we have specifically arranged for teachers to teach them music from the first year, cultivating their taste comprehensively," Zhang said.

The school has also choreographed dances for songs, according to Zhang, who proudly told People's Daily Online that her girls can dance beautifully to "Climbing the Mountain in Spring", which is a song popular in China this year.

Zhang Guimei, the principal of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, in Huaping county, Lijiang city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Faxing)

Zhang's selfless dedication and love to students provides them with a strong sense of security, and in turn the students repay her with respect and deep affection.

Zhang remembers vividly how she was moved when the girls brought a cake with the word "Mom" written on it to her on her birthday.

"I heard everyone shouting 'Happy Birthday' so loudly that the whole building resonated with the joyful sounds. It's hard to imagine that scene," Zhang recalled with a smile on her face.

"Actually, I like it best when the children call me 'mom.' A teacher imparts knowledge and teaches students life principles, but a mother brings up her children and provides love and warmth for them. So, even though being called 'mom' is a bit heavy, I am willing to take on the role. As long as they can grow up healthily, knowing that there is always someone supporting them from behind, that is enough," Zhang said.

"Even if it costs my life, it's worth it."

Zhang has always had a simple and understated style. She typically wears a black cloth jacket, jeans, and soft cloth shoes, with the only pop of color being the CPC emblem pin she always wears on her chest.

On June 29, 2021, Zhang was awarded the highest honor of the CPC, the July 1 Medal, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Introducing herself to the crowd at the venue, she said, "My name is Zhang Guimei. I'm an ordinary teacher."

Zhang is proving the power of education through her actions, and Huaping Senior High School for Girls has become a place where the dreams of local girls living in mountainous area begin.

New students of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, China's first public high school that provides free education for female students, take part in military training in the school. The school is located in Huaping county, Lijiang city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of integrated media center of Huaping county)

The girls who have graduated from the school are serving in various roles across the country - some are in the military, some are police officers, some are teachers... realizing the value of their lives in different industries.

At the same time, more and more students are returning to their hometown to contribute to its development, illuminating more people with the spirit of their school.

Since moving from the northeast region of China to the mountainous area of western Yunnan at the age of 18, Zhang, who is now 67 years old, has dedicated nearly 50 years to education.

She candidly told People's Daily Online that in the quiet of the night, when she was tormented by illness, she felt unbearable loneliness and despair sometimes. But the thought of her students gave her strength, because she "couldn't bear to leave them."

"I send them out of the mountains, and they keep me in the world. I believe that living is not just about existing, but about providing strength to those in need," Zhang said.

She feels rewarded to be able to do something for the children in the mountainous area, and watch them grow and continuously contribute to society.

"As a CPC member, even if it costs my life, it's worth it," she said.