Over the snowy peaks of Golog: Where books clear the way

Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province sits at an average altitude of more than 4,200 meters, making it the ethnic autonomous prefecture with the highest average elevation in China. Its high-altitude and frigid environment has given rise to the majestic, snow-capped Amne Machin Mountains, but those same conditions have also created unique challenges for the development of education in Golog.

"Golog is one of the most challenging places among China's 30 ethnic autonomous prefectures in terms of its natural conditions," said Lu Ning, deputy director of the prefecture's education bureau. The high altitude, oxygen deficiency and highly dispersed population have long constrained the development of basic education in the prefecture. As a result, Golog's education once ranked among the lowest in both Qinghai Province and the country. For local people, education has therefore become one of the most pressing livelihood concerns.

In 2010, the Fifth Central Symposium on Work Related to Xizang designated Shanghai to provide paired assistance to Golog Prefecture in Qinghai. To overcome the geographical constraints on education on the plateau, Golog adopted an innovative model of operating schools outside the prefecture, establishing a middle school for Golog students in Xining, the capital of Qinghai, where the altitude is considerably lower. In 2019, Golog Xining Ethnic Middle School was completed and began enrolling students.

"We hope to fully unlock the potential of every child through education, so that there is light in their eyes and dreams in their hearts," said Tian Zhe, director of the Xining Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, head of the liaison group for the sixth batch of officials dispatched to support Qinghai, and deputy secretary of the CPC Golog Prefectural Committee and deputy governor of Golog Prefecture. "To achieve this, we have actively introduced advanced educational philosophies, resources and programs from Shanghai and other parts of China."

Guided by this approach, the school joined forces with faculty members from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to establish China's first Tibetan youth wind orchestra, which has since performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The school has also introduced cutting-edge courses in artificial intelligence, scientific and technological innovation, and experimental sciences, using high-quality science and technology education to help narrow the educational gap between China's eastern regions and ethnic minority areas in the west.

In June 2024, during an inspection tour of Qinghai Province, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Golog Xining Ethnic Middle School. He expressed the hope that the students will cherish the favorable conditions of the school. They should aspire to become successors to and builders of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, striving to create opportunities for developing a distinguished career, he noted.

Zeng Qiang, principal of Golog Xining Ethnic Middle School, said that when the school's first cohort of students took the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, in 2022, more than 60 percent qualified for admission to undergraduate programs. In the recently concluded 2026 gaokao, the figure rose to 84.17 percent. Seven students were admitted to universities under "Project 985," 38 to universities under "Project 211," and one to a military academy. Years of effort have brought about a historic leap in educational development in Golog.

Xi has emphasized that ensuring children in poor areas receive a good education is an important task in poverty alleviation and development, as well as an important way to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

Zeng said that his experience since coming to Qinghai under the paired assistance program has given him a deeper understanding of the importance of access to rich educational resources and a sound educational environment.

"Many parents have barely ever left the grasslands and mountains, apart from bringing their children to Xining for school," he said. "When a child is able to step beyond the mountains, it also means an entire family has gained an opportunity to see a wider world."

In running the school, he added, emphasis is placed on fostering students' all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor education.

"We organize visits to Qinghai's 'Atomic City' so that students can experience firsthand the spirit of the 'Two Bombs, One Satellite' program. With the support of Shanghai's paired-assistance program, we also take students to the Oriental Pearl Tower to see the landscape of a modern metropolis from above, and to the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China to learn about the country's revolutionary history in Shanghai."

"We hope the children will have opportunities to walk out of the mountains and see the wider world, so that they can gain a clearer and fuller understanding of China's development and modernization," said Zou Hong'en, secretary-general of the liaison group for the sixth batch of officials dispatched to support Qinghai. "Through them, we hope to reach and influence many more people."

Sanjiangyuan in Qinghai, known as "China's Water Tower," is the source region of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. "I hope these children can be like the waters flowing from Sanjiangyuan, surging forward freely, while giving back to their country," said Yang Wenbo, vice principal of Golog Xining Ethnic Middle School. "Just as President Xi encouraged them, I hope they will 'strive to create opportunities for developing a distinguished career.'"