In 2011, News series of Tajik children's dangerous school run shocked China and gripped the hearts of hundred of millions in China. How they doing now

[beijingwalker]

In 2011, a prime time TV News series aired for a whole week on the Chinese central TV (CCTV) featuring 42 Tajik children from Pili village in Pamir Plateau and their dangerous school run, the series shocked the whole nation and gripped the hearts of hundreds of millions in China. Government scrambled to respond and social media was flooded with angry comments. Even foreign media noticed it and made extensive coverage.

Power of mass media, even for a tiny village buried deep in the Pamir mountains where the terrain could be the harshest and most difficult on this planet, the government still managed to cut through those mountains and build a modern road for merely dozens of Tajik herder families in one year. hundreds of millions investment just for 42 school kids.

 

[beijingwalker]

Teachers of a village kingdergarten in Xinjiang's Pamir mountain region make snowmen for the kids.​

 

[beijingwalker]

Pamir village primary school

 

[beijingwalker]

巴音库鲁提乡中心小学。帕米尔高原牧民的孩子们. Local herders children playing in a village primary school in Pamir mountains, Xinjiang. high tech warm jackets enable children to play outside in cold Pamir weather

The salary for Xinjiang rural shool teachers is around 100,000 Yuan (15,000$) yearly, but the cost of living in those regions is super low.

 

[beijingwalker]

Tajik kids sing with their teachers the song "why the flowers are so red" in Xinjiang Pamir region
A movie's theme song about Chinese PLA troop first time reached the Pamir region in 1950's and liberated Tajik slaves from their slave masters. Pamir Tajiks practiced slavery right until PLA abolished it in the early 1950's and this why till now every Tajik household still has Mao's portraits and Tajiks are well known as the " most patriotic" people in China.
You have to go through the misery and sufferings those Tajiks went through before PRC to understand why they so appreciate their current life now.

 

[beijingwalker]

For 42 Tajik children from Pili village and connectivity of nearby villages, China invested billions to build a road cutting through the world biggest mountains in just 2 years

 

[beijingwalker]

Pamir Tajik village primary school free school meal, children are very disciplined during the meal time. Good habit of discipline needs to be trained from early years

 

[beijingwalker]

Local police escort school buses deep in the Pamir mountain for 15 years

Around 300 students living in remote, isolated villages deep in the Pamir mountains have to travel long distance to go to their schools in towns on school buses, local police escort those school buses for 15 years to ensure the safety of the students during the long mountainous journeys.

 

[beijingwalker]

Teacher reunites with his ethnic Tajik students after 4 years in Xinjiang​

 

[beijingwalker]

What can happen in 10 years, Tajik primary school teacher tells with his own personal experience. in 2011 he worked as a primariy school teacher in a rural village deep in the Pamir Mountains, he very often can't receive his salary for months and his students were so poor, they literally wore ragtags and many can't afford a pair of shoes.

Fast forward through 8 years to 2019, the government built modern roads to every villege in the mountains, constructed brand new, modern schools with top notch all facilities, his salary raise to over ￥10,000 （ $1500). Most families now have their own cars including himself. now they can drive their own cars on the modern new roads to school, The region went from rags to riches in just 8 years time. schools also provide convenient school bus service to the students coming to the school and going back home.