To Mountains Far Away China Close Up


To Mountains Far Away

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At the University of Sichuan in southwest China,

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it's the start of the new academic year.

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But for these students, this year will be different,

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in ways they can't even imagine.

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China is campaigning to reduce poverty

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in its western regions,

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and they've signed up to work as volunteers

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in the remote mountains of Sichuan.

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AIRPORT HUBBUB

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For young people, who rarely travel far from home,

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the year ahead promises to be a life-changing experience.

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TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT

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3,000 metres up,

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Daliangshan - The Great Cool Mountains.

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They're home to one of China's largest

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and most intriguing ethnic minorities -

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the Yi people.

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There are 6 million Yi

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and the most isolated community lives in these mountains.

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This is the fourth year that Sichuan University

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has sent volunteers into the area.

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The boys will work as assistant teachers

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in one of the local schools.

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The girls will join the office of the Help The Poor scheme.

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CAR HORN TOOTS

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TRADITIONAL CHINESE MUSIC

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Day one - a traditional welcome at the primary school

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where the boys will be teaching.

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The Yi have links with Tibet and their culture is quite different

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from that of the Han Chinese, the dominant racial group in China.

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CHILDREN SING

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Spending a year here will give the students an understanding of life

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among people very different from themselves.

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In turn, they bring knowledge and expertise from the outside world.

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RAIN PATTERS

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The Yi may be isolated,

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but the outside world is closer than it's ever been.

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A brand-new road, 150 kilometres of it,

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has just been completed,

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providing a long-awaited link with the valley below.

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Change is now inevitable.

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China's wild west is being opened up.

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Improving education is a major line of attack

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in China's drive to reduce poverty.

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The goal is to provide every child with nine years of schooling.

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WHISTLE BLOWS SHARPLY

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CHILDREN CHATTER

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Today will be a tough test for the new volunteers.

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They've had some teaching practice

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as part of their preparation for coming,

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but now it's for real.

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SHE ADDRESSES CLASS IN CHINESE

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HE SPEAKS MANDARIN

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The Yi speak their own language

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and much of their learning happens in Yi.

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Huang Song's task is to teach Mandarin -

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China's official language.

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Without it, the children's access to Chinese culture

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and everything it offers, will be limited.

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For some, it's the first time

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they've heard Mandarin spoken correctly, and it's a challenge.

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Next door, Rong Yi is teaching something even more foreign -

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hygiene and health care.

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Rong Yi has no visual materials to help him.

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THE CHILDREN SING ALONG

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Books are not the only thing that schools in this region are short of.

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The youngest children often have to do without desks,

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making teaching and learning anything at all even more difficult.

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In all the local schools, funding is a huge problem.

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The smallest schools have to rely on charity to keep going.

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The volunteers have bought gifts

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from Sichuan University's sponsorship scheme.

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In China, education isn't free.

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And with large families, the sums mount up.

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Enough to stop parents sending their kids to school.

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Equipment for sports and games is the ultimate luxury.

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The drive to get children into primary school is starting to work.

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Secondary schooling is a different story.

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As children get older, their parents expect them to help out.

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And they argue, what's the point of education anyway?

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Hunag Song finds such attitudes hard to understand.

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14-year-old Huhe is the only child

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in his family who's gone on to secondary school.

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Huhe's brother went to primary school, but now that's it.

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His job is to graze the family's buffalo.

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Huhe's family grow just enough to feed themselves and their animals.

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Their only cash income comes from occasionally selling a pig.

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Like many village girls,

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Huhe's sister hasn't been to school at all and speaks no Mandarin.

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While villagers struggle for funds,

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development in the county town seems unstoppable.

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The main streets have been ripped up

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to be replaced with concrete and tarmac.

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There's no shortage of government investment or developers here.

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Hotels, offices and shopping malls are rising out of the rubble.

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"Think big" is the slogan.

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In five years' time, this town will have changed out of all recognition.

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It's market day,

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and the students have come to town to stock up on food.

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Fresh vegetables are plentiful now,

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but in the depths of winter they'll be hard to get and expensive.

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They're on a tight budget.

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Back at their digs in the village,

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the boys are trying to make the best of things.

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They finally managed to get some cooking appliances,

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but now the electrics are playing up.

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They're living in two rooms,

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and there's no washroom or toilet except for the public ones outside.

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The students' digs may be basic,

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but luxury compared with where their pupils live.

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If Rong Yi is to teach children hygiene, he needs to see for himself

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what people are up against.

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This village is better than many.

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There's running water from communal taps.

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There are even communal toilets.

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Drainage is poor, though,

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and animals roam freely, often spreading disease.

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Medical help is almost non-existent and going to hospital too expensive.

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This boy has recently lost two close relatives

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through lack of health care.

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There are long months ahead in which to try and achieve their ideals.

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Though the students see the need for change, they are also

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discovering aspects of life which are missing back in the city.

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Not least the genuine sense of community.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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