Li Zhongmei and her father Li Chuntian at home in Zhema village, Guangnan county. [Photo by Xu Lin/China Daily]

"It's hard for the younger generation, those like my child, to imagine the tough life I had in my childhood. For me, it's bittersweet, with many happy memories."

Pan recalls that, back in 1995, it was a great honor for those from Guangnan's mountainous regions to be recruited to a school in the town.

As the village had no cement road, her father walked with her on a mountain path for about four hours to get there. They also brought two bags of rice as provisions for the semester, as required by the school.

Pan only went home once a semester, and couldn't contact her parents while at school, because the village had no electricity, let alone a telephone.

She was worried about her new life, but it took her just a month to adjust to it.

She learned how to use a bucket attached to a rope to get water out of a well, as the school had no tap water.

All of the girls were simply dressed in the homemade clothes of their own ethnic groups. Most had no pocket money.

They once received clothes and stationery donated by primary school students in Shanghai as part of a public-service activity. It was the first time Pan had worn such clothes that kept her so warm in winter. She still keeps some as a memento of her school days.