For years the people of Zhongzhai village, Wenshan, Yunnan province, have been blocked from the outside world by a mountain.

But after six years, four men have finally carved a five kilometer stretch out of the remote mountainous area.

The four families endured years of hardship, one man even partly losing the function of his hand, spending all their saving on clearing the hilly road and building an enormous debt of 80,000 yuan ($11,895) despite each family only earning 500 yuan a year.

But the group – who have been dubbed the "Modern Yu Gong" say it has all be worth it, "As long as our children get a way to go to school," said one.

Yu Gong was an old man in Chinese fable who was determined to dig away two big mountains in front of his family home, which caused his family great inconvenience.

His famous words read: "I will soon be dead, but I have children, and when my children are dead, there are still my grandchildren. My family will grow and grow and the mountain will get smaller and smaller. With such determination, surely it is possible to move the mountains!"