0:00:12 > 0:00:14At the University of Sichuan in southwest China,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18it's the start of the new academic year.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23But for these students, this year will be different,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25in ways they can't even imagine.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29China is campaigning to reduce poverty
0:00:29 > 0:00:31in its western regions,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and they've signed up to work as volunteers
0:00:34 > 0:00:36in the remote mountains of Sichuan.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38AIRPORT HUBBUB
0:00:38 > 0:00:42For young people, who rarely travel far from home,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46the year ahead promises to be a life-changing experience.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT
0:01:00 > 0:01:033,000 metres up,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Daliangshan - The Great Cool Mountains.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13They're home to one of China's largest
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and most intriguing ethnic minorities -
0:01:16 > 0:01:18the Yi people.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22There are 6 million Yi
0:01:22 > 0:01:26and the most isolated community lives in these mountains.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33This is the fourth year that Sichuan University
0:01:33 > 0:01:36has sent volunteers into the area.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38The boys will work as assistant teachers
0:01:38 > 0:01:41in one of the local schools.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The girls will join the office of the Help The Poor scheme.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48CAR HORN TOOTS
0:02:13 > 0:02:15TRADITIONAL CHINESE MUSIC
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Day one - a traditional welcome at the primary school
0:02:19 > 0:02:21where the boys will be teaching.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27The Yi have links with Tibet and their culture is quite different
0:02:27 > 0:02:31from that of the Han Chinese, the dominant racial group in China.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35CHILDREN SING
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Spending a year here will give the students an understanding of life
0:02:39 > 0:02:43among people very different from themselves.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48In turn, they bring knowledge and expertise from the outside world.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51RAIN PATTERS
0:02:51 > 0:02:53The Yi may be isolated,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57but the outside world is closer than it's ever been.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02A brand-new road, 150 kilometres of it,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04has just been completed,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08providing a long-awaited link with the valley below.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Change is now inevitable.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14China's wild west is being opened up.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Improving education is a major line of attack
0:03:20 > 0:03:23in China's drive to reduce poverty.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27The goal is to provide every child with nine years of schooling.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32WHISTLE BLOWS SHARPLY
0:03:32 > 0:03:34CHILDREN CHATTER
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Today will be a tough test for the new volunteers.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40They've had some teaching practice
0:03:40 > 0:03:43as part of their preparation for coming,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45but now it's for real.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49SHE ADDRESSES CLASS IN CHINESE
0:04:01 > 0:04:03HE SPEAKS MANDARIN
0:04:03 > 0:04:06The Yi speak their own language
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and much of their learning happens in Yi.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Huang Song's task is to teach Mandarin -
0:04:12 > 0:04:14China's official language.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Without it, the children's access to Chinese culture
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and everything it offers, will be limited.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25For some, it's the first time
0:04:25 > 0:04:28they've heard Mandarin spoken correctly, and it's a challenge.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Next door, Rong Yi is teaching something even more foreign -
0:05:11 > 0:05:13hygiene and health care.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Rong Yi has no visual materials to help him.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58THE CHILDREN SING ALONG
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Books are not the only thing that schools in this region are short of.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14The youngest children often have to do without desks,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17making teaching and learning anything at all even more difficult.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28In all the local schools, funding is a huge problem.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31The smallest schools have to rely on charity to keep going.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35The volunteers have bought gifts
0:06:35 > 0:06:38from Sichuan University's sponsorship scheme.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44In China, education isn't free.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And with large families, the sums mount up.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Enough to stop parents sending their kids to school.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Equipment for sports and games is the ultimate luxury.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34The drive to get children into primary school is starting to work.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Secondary schooling is a different story.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43As children get older, their parents expect them to help out.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47And they argue, what's the point of education anyway?
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Hunag Song finds such attitudes hard to understand.
0:07:54 > 0:07:5714-year-old Huhe is the only child
0:07:57 > 0:08:00in his family who's gone on to secondary school.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Huhe's brother went to primary school, but now that's it.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09His job is to graze the family's buffalo.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Huhe's family grow just enough to feed themselves and their animals.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Their only cash income comes from occasionally selling a pig.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Like many village girls,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Huhe's sister hasn't been to school at all and speaks no Mandarin.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35While villagers struggle for funds,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39development in the county town seems unstoppable.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44The main streets have been ripped up
0:09:44 > 0:09:47to be replaced with concrete and tarmac.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51There's no shortage of government investment or developers here.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Hotels, offices and shopping malls are rising out of the rubble.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04"Think big" is the slogan.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09In five years' time, this town will have changed out of all recognition.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18It's market day,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23and the students have come to town to stock up on food.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Fresh vegetables are plentiful now,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35but in the depths of winter they'll be hard to get and expensive.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37They're on a tight budget.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Back at their digs in the village,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47the boys are trying to make the best of things.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49They finally managed to get some cooking appliances,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51but now the electrics are playing up.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56They're living in two rooms,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00and there's no washroom or toilet except for the public ones outside.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58The students' digs may be basic,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01but luxury compared with where their pupils live.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07If Rong Yi is to teach children hygiene, he needs to see for himself
0:12:07 > 0:12:08what people are up against.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12This village is better than many.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15There's running water from communal taps.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19There are even communal toilets.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20Drainage is poor, though,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and animals roam freely, often spreading disease.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34Medical help is almost non-existent and going to hospital too expensive.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37This boy has recently lost two close relatives
0:12:37 > 0:12:39through lack of health care.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13There are long months ahead in which to try and achieve their ideals.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Though the students see the need for change, they are also
0:13:15 > 0:13:19discovering aspects of life which are missing back in the city.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Not least the genuine sense of community.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd