Zhang Zhanliang, the principal of Huangni Primary School in the village of Huangni, East China's Jiangxi province, blows to start a fire with his students to cook a meal for them. [PHOTO/XINHUA]

Primary school students in China's remote mountainous areas are enjoying a better education thanks to the implementation of supportive policies in recent years.

Here is a glimpse at the measures undertaken to improve learning and provide better educational facilities.

Feeding their knowledge

Zhang Zhanliang is not only a principal but also a "cook".

In 2018, Zhang was appointed the principal of the Huangni Primary School in the village of Huangni, East China's Jiangxi province. The school has just over 20 students.

There was no canteen and many students had to bring lunch boxes as they lived far from school. By the time lunch rolled around the meals would be cold.

To ensure students had a hot meal, Zhang decided to make lunch for his students in the playground.

"I was afraid of rainy days, because it meant we could not cook," he says. "My biggest wish at the time was to have a proper kitchen."

Zhang's dream was realized in 2019 after the local education department allocated a special fund of over 200,000 yuan ($30,000) to build a 38-square-meter kitchen for the school. Gas stoves and ovens were donated by local companies.

So far, the local education department has appropriated more than 200,000 yuan to the school to cover mealtime.

"Lunchtime is one of the happiest times of the day for students," says Zhang.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education show China's total investment in education, including free meals and improving school facilities, has increased by more than 8 percent annually over the past three years.