A native from Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province, Xu, a sophomore majoring in Chinese literature and language, says he was impressed to discover that the rural school in Gouba village had installed a variety of facilities for art and physical education, setting up classrooms for electric piano, chess, painting and calligraphy, as well as pottery.

"When I was young, I also studied at a village school. There was only one class in one grade at my school, making me believe that every elementary school was the same size," recalls Xu.

"After I started studying at Beijing Normal University, I found that most of my schoolmates (from urban areas) were quite versatile. Some of them could play piano, and some could play guitar or dance quite well," says Xu, revealing that he had once dreamed of learning to play the piano.