ABOVE: Yu Maoxian rides in her teacher Yu Qigui's back basket in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian walks on campus after class at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025.
Twelve years ago, Yu Maoxian was just a little girl riding in her teacher's back basket on the way home from school. Today, she is a college student walking confidently across a university campus--a journey of determination, transformation, and hope.
Maoxian comes from Yujiazhai, a remote village in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. On February 26, 2013, Xinhua photographer Lu Boan captured an image of Maoxian while visiting Wengjiang Primary School: Yu Qigui, Maoxian's teacher, walking along a mountain trail, carrying little Maoxian in a bamboo basket on his back, leading a few students home.
At the time, there were no roads to the school. Yu Qigui, the school's only teacher, would carry children or their heavy schoolbags in his back basket through the mountains each day, earning him the nickname "the back-basket teacher." In 2014, he was recognized as a National Model Teacher.
Over the past 12 years, Maoxian worked tirelessly toward her dream. In 2024, she was admitted to Guilin University of Information Technology. "When I was in primary school, our village had no road," she recalled. "We had to get up early and walk more than an hour over four kilometers of mountain paths just to reach school. Witnessing the hardships of my hometown and my parents' struggles, I made up my mind to study hard and leave the mountains."
Now, with one dream fulfilled, Miaoxian has set her sights on another. She hopes to join China's "Three Support and One Assistance" program, an initiative encouraging college graduates to serve in rural communities through teaching, healthcare, agriculture, and rural revitalization. "I want to bring what I've learned back to the countryside," she said, "and contribute to its development."
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (1st R, front) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (2nd L) walks on campus after class at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (5th R) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian walks on campus after class at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (2nd L) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (3rd L) walks on campus with her classmates at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (R, back) gets ready for a flag-raising ceremony in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (3rd R, 2nd row) attends a lecture at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (2nd R, 2nd row) attends a class at Wengjiang Primary School in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (1st L, 2nd row, center column) attends a lecture at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian (3rd R) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (1st L, front) attends a lecture at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
ABOVE: Yu Maoxian rides in her teacher Yu Qigui's back basket in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
BELOW: Yu Maoxian (R) consults her advisor Zhu Tingting at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
LEFT: Yu Maoxian attends a lecture at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025;
RIGHT: Yu Maoxian (2nd L) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
LEFT: Yu Maoxian (2nd L, front) walks to school with her teacher and classmates in Jiangliu Village of Longji Town, Longsheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Feb. 26, 2013;
RIGHT: Yu Maoxian walks on campus after class at Guilin Institute of Information Technology in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)
