Gulu Elementary School

How long does it take you to get to school? More or less than five hours? For the children of Gulu Elementary a five hour journey to each day is perfectly normal.

Gulu Village is located in the canyons of Hanyuan County of Ya’an in Sichuan Province, China. Not many people know about the village and, like many isolated villages around the world, there is only one school for the children who live there. But the Gulu Village elementary school is very different. The reason it is different is students have to trek for five hours up a mountain to get to it.

It is also a dangerous way to school, probably too dangerous for most people. The school is located halfway up a cliff. The path to get there from the base of the mountain is like something you can see in an adventure movie. At some parts the path is only 40cm wide!

There is only one teacher in the school. His name is Shen and he has been at the school for 26 years. Shen Qijun came to the Gulu Village primary school when he was 18-years-old. At that time, the classroom was made of dirt, the roof leaked, the wind came in through the walls, the school did not have a toilet. He didn’t want to give up on the school or the students so he asked the villagers to help him fix the problems with the building. Teacher Shen has worked hard every day over the past 26 years, and has earned the local villagers’ respect.

He wants his students to get the best education possible and he knows there are no other schools in the area. Only two students in Shen's 26 years at the school have gone to university. But everyone can see the positive changes Shen does for the children. As long as Shen stays there, the Gulu Village elementary school and its students will always be in good hands.