This combo photo shows Meng Keyou, who is about to graduate from a vocational school, posing for a photo in front of his home on Jan. 16, 2023 (above) and 10-year-old Meng Keyou sitting for a rest on a cliff on his way to school on Sept. 5, 2012 (below) in Nonglei Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
DAHUA, Guangxi, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Meng Xuantai unknowingly made news headlines nearly 11 years ago during his hour-long trek to school in the craggy mountains of Dahua, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
In a photo taken by a Xinhua photographer in September 2012, the eight-year-old was struggling to climb up a cliff, with one hand pressing against a rock to keep his balance and the other holding a plastic bag containing everything he needed for school.
Meng was put in the middle of a group, sandwiched between two older children who were expected to give him a hand in case of danger. From their home village Nongyong, they had to get to the other side of the mountain to the nearest school. The trek was long and dangerous, so they only went home on the weekends.
Guangxi is one of the areas facing the worst level of stony desertification, and Dahua county, predominantly inhabited by the Yao ethnic group, is located in Karst landscapes covered with rocks. Meng's home village was once identified as uninhabitable by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations due to its extremely tough natural conditions.
In the photo, Meng's brother Meng Xuanren, 11 at the time, was carrying a bedsheet made of bamboo fiber.
The two boys had different dreams. Meng Xuantai was eager to grow up, earn his living "somewhere outside the mountains" and support their parents, whereas his brother dreamed of going to university and "changing his fate with knowledge."
One of their sweetest childhood memories was standing at the door and waiting for their father to come home for the Chinese New Year, coveting the candies and gifts he would bring them from the faraway city where he worked.
Their father Meng Guisu, who did not even finish primary school, joined the majority of villagers who worked far away from home. But he insisted his own sons should receive a better education and earn a decent living. For many parents, schooling was worth the hardship along the children's long, dangerous trek.
Some children were better protected than others. Meng Keyou started school at nine, two years later than his peers, because his parents thought it was too dangerous for a seven-year-old to climb up and down a cliff, where a fall could be fatal.
Meng Qiuyan, 11 at the time, remembers an older girl who fell from the cliff on her way to school. "Fortunately she was caught by rocks and trees. A teacher rushed to her rescue, but she has a long scar on her forehead until today."
Most families in the village have the same family name, Meng, though they are not all related.
Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang followed these children on their way to school for the first time in 2012 and kept updating his photo archive over the years. Gradually he noticed the changes: the children grew into adults and blacktop roads replaced the rocky, perilous trail their little feet once trod.
"Eleven years seem long," said Huang. "I recorded the mountain life with my camera lens and categorized the photos. The kids went to school, came home, herded the sheep, did their laundry, helped in the kitchen and out in the field, and grew up."
He caught snapshots of their tough life and every single change for the better: expanded road networks, more vehicles, as well as free nutritious meals and new dormitory buildings for schoolchildren. "Last but not least, the young adults I know from 11 years ago."
Most of the former schoolchildren in Huang's photos are now aged from 18 to 24 years old. Some are in their final year at high school and preparing to enter university this fall, some are already in university and the others have taken up jobs as teachers, doctors, or workers.
The Meng brothers have both fulfilled their dreams: Xuanren is studying at Liaoning Provincial College of Communications in northeast China, whereas his younger brother Xuantai has finished technical school and secured a job in the neighboring Guangdong Province, repairing vehicles.
Huang took another photo for the brothers when they came home for the Chinese New Year in January, in a tunnel that leads to the other side of the mountain. For the younger children in the village, a walk to school along the new road takes 20 minutes. A car or motorbike ride halves the travel time.
Qiuyan, who always regrets the scar on the face of her friend who slipped off the cliff, is now studying at a university of medical sciences in Nanning, the regional capital.
China declared a complete victory in its fight against poverty in February 2021. The country has lifted 770 million rural residents out of poverty since the beginning of the reform and opening up over 40 years ago, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global total, according to the World Bank's international poverty line. ■
This combo photo shows Lan Qiuyan, who has just graduated from a college, posing for a photo when she comes back home for the Spring Festival on Jan. 21, 2023 (above) and 11-year-old Lan Qiuyan in a yellow top walking home on a mountain road from school on July 4, 2012 (below) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Fusong, who is a doctor in the village, posing for a photo in front of the village clinic on May 24, 2023 (above, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Hu Xingyu) and 10-year-old Meng Fusong (1st R) on his way to school on Sept. 5, 2012 (below, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang) in Nonglei Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
This combo photo shows Meng Xuanren (L), who is a sophomore in a college, and his brother Meng Xuantai, who works in a car repair plant after graduating from a vocational school, posing for a photo near a tunnel linking to their primary school on Jan. 20, 2023 (above) and the brothers (2nd L and 1st L) on their way to school on Sept. 3, 2012 (below) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Xuanhai, who is making a living in Guangdong Province after graduating from a vocational school, posing for a photo by a road when he comes back home for the Spring Festival on Jan. 26, 2023 (above) and 7-year-old Meng Xuanhai (1st R) playing table tennis on Dec. 27, 2012 (below) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Ligu, who is a senior high school student, posing for a photo at her classroom in the county seat on May 20, 2023 (above, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Hu Xingyu) and 7-year-old Meng Ligu on her way to school Sept. 3, 2012 (below, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang) in Nonglei Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
This combo photo shows 7-year-old Meng Wangbing (2nd L) playing with friends at school on July 4, 2012 (L) and Meng Wangbing, who is a freshman at Guilin University of Technology, posing for a photo on Jan. 25, 2023 in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows middle school student Lan Xiuxue studying at home on Jan. 16, 2023 (above) and 5-year-old Lan Xiuxue herding sheep on July 14, 2013 (below) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows 7-year-old Lan Tiande (1st R) on his way to school on Sept. 3, 2012 (L) and Lan Tiande, who is about to graduate from a vocational school, posing for a photo in front of his house when he comes back home for the Spring Festival on Jan. 23, 2023 (R) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Xuanzhao, who is making a living in Guangdong Province after graduating from a vocational school, posing for a photo in front of his new car on Jan. 21, 2023 (above) and 11-year-old Meng Xuanzhao (front) herding sheep during summer break on July 16, 2012 (below) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Wenchao, who is a senior high school student, posing for a photo at home in front of a wall full of his certificates of merit on Jan. 26, 2023 (above) and 7-year-old Meng Wenchao (1st L) walking on his way home on Sept. 5, 2012 (below, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang) in Nonglei Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows 6-year-old Wei Kangtao having class at school in Dahua Township on March 27, 2012 (L, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang) and Wei Kangtao, who is a senior high school student now, posing for a photo on May 21, 2023 (R, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Hu Xingyu) in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
This combo photo shows 7-year-old Meng Jinchen having class at school on July 4, 2012 (L) and Meng Jinchen, who is a freshman at a vocational school, posing for photos on Jan. 25, 2023 in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows 4-year-old Meng Xuanhong in his sister's old dress playing with Lan Xiaoshuai on July 16, 2012 (L) and middle school students Meng Xuanhong and Lan Xiaoshuai posing for a photo on Jan. 21, 2023 (R) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
This combo photo shows Meng Qiuyan, who is a college student in Guangxi Medical University, posing for a photo at campus in Nanning, on May 27, 2023 (above) and 11-year-old Meng Qiuyan (1st R) helping younger kids on her way home on Sept. 3, 2012 (below, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Huang Xiaobang) in Nonglei Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
This combo photo shows 10-year-old Meng Rouyu walking with her little brother Meng Xuanpeng on her back on July 16, 2012 (L) and Meng Rouyu, who has graduated from a school for kindergarten teachers, posing for a photo with her little brother Meng Xuanpeng on Jan. 20, 2023 (R) in Nongyong Village of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
