Year in review: Most touching stories of 2019

'Teacher on crutches' dedicates 42 years to rural education

Gao Ziren, a 60-year-old teacher who has paralysis in his left leg, requiring him to use a crutch, has devoted himself to teaching rural students for more than four decades.

For the past years, Gao has worn out more than 60 crutches on the way between his home, the school and students' homes at Meiling township in East China's Jiangxi province.

Born to a rural family in the township, after coming down with polio at the age of 1, Gao's left leg suffered muscular atrophy, which left him unable to walk normally. He didn't give up, persevering to finish his studies from primary school through high school.

He started his career in 1977 when a village official visited him about being a teacher in the village, as one of the two teachers there had left. Gao agreed to take the position, as he knew the importance of a teacher to students, especially those like him.

The roads were sandy and muddy in the past, causing him to stumble on the roads. "He has difficulty walking, but he is usually the first to come to school," said a colleague who worked with Gao Ziren for many years. During those days when the teaching conditions were still poor in the area, he usually brought some desks and benches from home and bought stationery for the impoverished students.

"I have taught many students since being a teacher for so many years. Some students would like to visit during the holidays, and it feels good that someone remembers you," Gao Ziren said.