Lu Lu and her students in Qapqal Xibe autonomous county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/WeChat account: jiangsuyuanjiangyili]

Lu Lu, a Chinese language teacher at Jingshan Middle School in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, was honored by the central government earlier this year as an advanced individual in helping poverty alleviation in Qapqal Xibe autonomous county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

As one of the first teachers appointed by the Ministry of Education to support education in Xinjiang, Lu began her work in the northwestern region in 2018.

Once arriving at the remote area, Lu learned that local students were not fluent in Mandarin Chinese and were unable to understand the classes she delivered.

She came up with the idea of translating the students' Uygur names into Mandarin Chinese and fortunately it succeeded. Her students were gradually motivated by Lu's enthusiasm and their relationship gradually became closer.

Lu was touched by the students' enthusiasm for learning and she decided to stay in Qapqal Xibe during the summer holiday to introduce them to more studies on ancient Chinese civilization.

"It has nothing to do about nationality, but whether one can appreciate and understand beauty. What I have done was open the door of Chinese civilization to students, let them feel the beauty of Chinese culture, and sowed the seeds of cultural inheritance in their hearts," Lu said.

Though she had finished her Xinjiang educational assignment in late 2019, Lu has maintained frequent exchanges with students and teachers there, opening online classes and sharing the latest educational resources with them.