Qimen County Rongkou Yu-Lang Hope School
Date of Visit: May 9, 2017
Purpose of Visit: Revisit
Grades: K-9 (currently no students in the junior high division)
Remark: Qimen County’s natural environment is superb and largely covered by forests, unparalleled by any other area in Anhui Province. The cultural history here is significant, being the birthplace of the Xin’an (新安) branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anhui opera, etc. The county is also widely-known for its black tea (more commonly known in English as Keemun Tea), which is enjoyed by the British Royal Family.
As the school is located in a sparsely populated area, there are two “teaching points (similar to one-room schoolhouses)” off-campus that teach 8 students.
Students
No. of Students: 80 (6 boarding)
Teachers
No. of Teachers: 17
Buildings/Facilities
– Two-storied building
– Classrooms (all classrooms equipped with bān bān tōng [斑斑通] electronic teaching systems)
– Teachers’ offices
– Conference room
– Library: ~2,000 books
– Computer room: 20 computers (needs replacing)
– Cafeteria: has a simplified version of a Hope Kitchen
– Restrooms: flush-style toilets
Problems/Issues
Rongkou Township is located at the most southern reaches of Anhui Province, where the land area is expansive, but the population low. The student(s) living the furthest away in their district must travel 10km to get to school. Numerous students have moved away to the county seat with their parents in search of work, while some students have stayed back and become “left-behind” children. As the student population is now much smaller than before, the classes are also much smaller. Despite this, the teacher/student interaction is much better.