Over the past three years, Chen Yanzi, 28, has spent almost all her time with her students at a primary school in the village of Mawu in Jincheng, Shanxi province.

Chen became a teacher at the school in September 2019, following two others.

She spent three hours getting to Mawu the first time on rural roads from her home in downtown Jincheng, 100 kilometers away. She was a little nervous about the village, which she knew nothing about.

"I had never been there and I didn't know what it was like. I didn't know what my students would be like," she said. "However, when I enter the classroom and saw the Chinese words the students had written on the blackboard — 'Welcome, Miss Chen' — I felt quite warm and wanted to do my best."

She started with six students, all in different grades. She taught math and English, as well as music, art and physical education. She tried to understand address the individual needs of each student.