The girls' clean bunk beds. [Photo by Xu Lin/China Daily]

"Since the program has been running for years, it's easier to recruit students, as more parents realize that knowledge can change destinies," Liao says, adding that most graduates do go to college and find good jobs.

It was in 2006 that the school first got funding from private enterprises. Before that, the school depended on local governmental departments and public institutions.

Liao's 500 daughters

For Liao, 52, it has been tough work as head teacher of the all-girl class. For 22 years she has devoted herself tirelessly to the success of the school. Now she only teaches Chinese language class.

Over the decades, she has taught more than 500 students. Many still call her "Mother Liao" long after their graduation.

When she was head teacher of the class, she was at school from 7 am to 9 pm, calling it a day only after seeing the boarding students go to bed. She gave it everything and even had to ask her parents to look after her daughter, a teenager at the time.

"Students are sensible and smart, and eager to learn," she says.

When a new semester started, she required students to speak Mandarin all the time, rather than the language of their ethnic groups.