BEIJING, May 30 -- As the dawn rays broke the darkness, Liu Xiangping felt his dream was just beginning.

He had never imagined he would one day stand in Beijing's Tiananmen Square watching the daily flag-raising ceremony in the heart of China's ancient yet modern capital.

Born and raised in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liu had been confined to his village by isolation and poverty, but his dreams were coming true with the help of Chen Shixun, a college student from Beijing.

As sophomore at Tsinghua University, Chen began a volunteer group to support Liu's school, Bayannuoer Elementary School, in 2012. Chen goes there every summer with 18 other students from Tsinghua University, The University of Hong Kong, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

Aiming to help children in Inner Mongolia's impoverished countryside, they have conducted fundraising events in Yuxiang Elementary School in Beijing and donated more 3,000 textbooks to Bayannuoer school. They have also held a charity sale of postcards and received sponsorship from other institutions. Chen says Bayannuoer school's basic infrastructure is limited. "The playground is just mud after the rain, with puddles up to 40 centimeters deep. The volleyball court is made of bricks, and the students play carefully so the bricks don't pierce the ball," Chen said.

"Blackouts are frequent and when the electricity is off, the children get no water too. Conditions at the school are poor. The children have to double up in the beds at night because they don't have enough beds."

The students have just four classes - math, Chinese, PE and English - in contrast to urban children who can study history, geography, biology, computing and a range of other subjects.

"It's very important for children to develop in an all-round way, so we choose to teach courses like film appreciation, self-defense, and basic knowledge about sex," Chen said. "Children in modern China must know how to protect themselves."

Chen puts equal emphasis on improving school life and introducing the children to the outside world.

"A lot of the children never leave the village," Chen said. For some, the farthest they go is Tianshan, the nearest town," and even that is just a dream to many of them."

Chen was determined to change the situation. With the sponsorship and charity sales, Chen and her colleagues raised more than 10,000 yuan, and took eight children, including Liu Xiangping, on a trip to China' s capital.

"We took them to Tiananmen Square and other places of interest. We think visiting the most developed city in China fosters their ambition," she said.

"It's also a way to realize my dream of helping children in an impoverished area to get a better education."

The trip to Beijing was life-changing for Liu, who wants to be a teacher. "I think I'm more qualified to be a teacher after this," he told Chen. "I will tell the stories to the kids back in my hometown, to help more children like you do. I feel my dream is coming closer."

Chen believes she is contributing to a brighter future for China: "President Xi Jinping said the Chinese dream is about 'national rejuvenation and prosperity'. Children are the hope of this country. We let them dream, we let China dream."

Chen and her group are going to Bayannuoer school again in August. "We'll continue doing this no matter what," she said. "We hope to extend the volunteer activity to more impoverished areas and help more students there to realize their dream."