A video clip in which a schoolgirl from a previously impoverished village in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region revealed her lovely and innocent smile has garnered widespread attention among Chinese internet users.

Tie Jiaxin

Tie Jiaxin, 7, a first grade student at Daping Primary School, had just finished class and was waiting for the bus to go home when her teacher, Ma Rui, shot the video on March 4. Ma thought the girl was cute and her smile healing.

Ma, who became a volunteer teacher at Daping Primary School more than one year ago, said it has been a habit of hers to record what she sees by camera on her phone as well as sharing the recordings with a wider audience. “As I have observed, my students are becoming more confident than before,” said Ma.

Ma Rui and her students.

Xiji county, where the school is located, was lifted out of poverty in November 2020.

Poverty alleviation in the once impoverished county had faced major challenges in the past, but thanks to the implementation of efforts aimed at targeted poverty relief, the county has benefited from remarkable positive changes in recent years.

Xiji county in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

Aerial photo shows Daping Primary School.

Daping Primary School serves as a vivid example of the outcomes of poverty alleviation. In the past, students there used to have classes in adobe schoolhouses and suffered from a shortage of exercise books. Today, they are provided with free meals and better facilities, such as new school buildings and playgrounds. In addition, more advanced teaching methods, including the use of multimedia teaching and Internet-assisted teaching facilities, have also broadened students’ horizons and have made them more confident in their studies.

After the story of the school went viral online, the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, one of China's largest non-governmental organizations working in poverty reduction, donated kitchen equipment worth 50,000 yuan (about $7,685) to support the school.