Chinese children endure 'world's most dangerous school run'

Chinese children endure 'world's most dangerous school run'
By Malcolm Moore

www.telegraph.c... o.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8890836/Chinese-children-endure-worlds-most-dangerous-school-run.html

reply to post by haidian

The children, aged between six and 17 years-old, live in Pili, a village of some 400 herders and farmers high up in the foothills that separate China from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
But their school lies some 120 miles away, 50 miles of which are inaccessible to vehicles and have to be crossed on foot, or by camel.

"There is only one way to get to the village, and you have to climb up in the mountains," said Su Qin, the head teacher at Taxkorgan Town boarding school, where the children study. "The village is completely cut off. The roads only take you further away," she added.

So, four times a year, before and after the summer and winter terms, a group of teachers sets off to escort the children on the journey. It takes at least two days and one night of trekking, and the children sometimes arrive at the school as much as a week after the beginning of term.

The most dangerous part of the route is a path, which narrows to just a few inches wide, that has been cut into a cliff face some 1,000ft above the valley beneath. Without safety harnesses, the teachers gingerly shepherd their charges along.

Link

Another source

Very cool. Wish I was one of those kids growing up, damn sure to build some character. I think people of modern convenience forget what humans are capable of at any age, so long as there is a will.



Also, they are protected from the annoying, "When I was a kid, I…"

But they sure as hell can say that to their own.

Those Chinese Tajik kids live in the middile of Pamir Mountains,their hometown was complete cut off from the outside world(a new highway completed just last year) .Children living in those mountains do not have access to decent education,so they have to be brought out to attend the school.the schools are good and for free,but bringing them out from inside the mountains is a treacherous job.

It is the poorest region in China and when the progams was first aired on TV, people were shocked knowing such a poverty stricken place still existed in today's China. People there live in abject poverty . the TV report soon grasped the nation's attention and tons of donations poured in after the broadcasting,several follow up reports were made after the first one.Money and volunteer teachers flocked in and conditions have been greatly improved in recent years.

receiving school donations

the top Local government official,the county boss, after the nationwide TV report ,rushed to visit the school



Beijing TV hostess flew to the region and visited the school,only cried after knowing the stories of those poor kids,she and the Beijing TV station brought some of the poorest students to Beijing and showed them around the nation's capital which in their minds was such a far away place that they could have only learned about it from their textbooks.




Lovely kids indeed,are always cheerful despite the harsh conditions they have to live in.After learning their story,Hongkong city government invited them to Hongkong and threw parties for them with local Hongkong pupils.

Really cool thread! I wasn't planning on giving a S&F because your post was devoid of any information, but then I saw your follow-up pictures and comments; now I wish I could give you two!
I am curious, tho; why do most of the children look Caucasian? Where does their ethnicity originate from?

reply to post by nugget1


Good question.

I'd guess maybe where they live is on the Eastern European edge of China.

reply to post by haidian


Wow those are some dedicated teachers and students my hat is off to them.

I see why we rank so low in education.

They live in Pamir plateau,some say that they are Tajiks and some say not.They are the very native people living in that region,since time immemorial.the most ancient natives.

Grandfather and grandson

reply to post by haidian


They don't look ME either . The blue, blue eyes, and blond haired ones almost look Nordic. In some, you can see oriental and middle eastern traits, but I don't think they were the ancestors. The Caucasian gene seems too dominant....interesting.

reply to post by nugget1


It would appear their ancestry leads back to mediteranean Caucasians.

According to this WIKI article.

Interestingly, I found an article about a Chinese village that has descendants back to the Romans.

Link

They too have Caucasian characteristics.

I don't think they have anything to do with Romans,they are the first people to this region.because they live in the mountains, they had been cut off from the other side world for the most part of the human history with very limited contacts with other peoples.

Those people are famous for their talents in singing and dancing in China.

Because of millennium old isolation,those people are very innocent and simple in nature.unlike some Uyghurs,they are very friendly to the outsiders and guests.

The real problem for them is poverty,the region is on the Chinese western frontier and having trouble to attract any kinds of investment.a truly left behind part of China which witnesses the worst kind of poverty in the whole country.Some girls can't go to school just because their families can not afford buying their a pair of shoes. But those children love studying and keep a very optimistic attitude despite the hardship.

Quite amazing. Seeing the happy faces of the children in their simple surrounds and you must honour their dedication to attend their school. Very enjoyable thread. S and F.

Bally

Not long ago I read about another group of children who also have a very dangerous trip to school.

reply to post by haidian

I don't think they have anything to do with Romans,they are the first people to this region.because they live in the mountains, they had been cut off from the other side world for the most part of the human history with very limited contacts with other peoples.

All peoples come from somewhere, or were somewhere at one point.

The Tajiks of China originally came from Persia, (as China and Iran both officially point out).

The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Tajiks in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the language spoken in Tajikistan.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.iranicaonline.org...

www.illumemagazine.com...




What's interesting is this:

Tests found that the DNA of some villagers in Liqian, on the fringes of the Gobi Desert in north-western China, was 56 per cent Caucasian in origin.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

www.economist.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

Xinjiang and Gansu (Liqian) are neighbouring.

Persian relations date back past 200BC, but the tale of the Persians settling in China I think is sometime around 600AD. The Romans apparently were in the area around the same time, and one tale (not verified) states a legion may have settled around 50BC.




It's quite possible, while the Tajiks of China have a Persian origin that there is some long lost Roman blood in there too. Depending on who copulated with who over the years.

As you know… People don't simply "come from the mountains".

Does anyone see a special "something" in the faces of these kids?
They positively glow with life and shine with joy.
I looked through all the pics a couple times and I am amazed at the look in these children's eyes.
Beautiful.

Xinjiang and Gansu (Liqian) are neighbouring.

Persian relations date back past 200BC, but the tale of the Persians settling in China I think is sometime around 600AD. The Romans apparently were in the area around the same time, and one tale (not verified) states a legion may have settled around 50BC.


It's quite possible, while the Tajiks of China have a Persian origin that there is some long lost Roman blood in there too. Depending on who copulated with who over the years.

As you know… People don't simply "come from the mountains".

edit on 12-1-2014 by boncho because: (no reason given)

I don't think Roman legions could've travelled this far into China.scientists found Caucasian looking mummies in Xinjiang desert which can date back to almost 4,000 years ago. and those first Xinjiang settlers maybe have some direct descedants still live in Xinjiang.
en.wikipedia.org...