夫妻9年坚守中国最北小学：“看着孩子们的眼神，我就想留下” | China’s Northernmost School

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Located at Beiji Town, Mohe City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Beihong School is the northernmost rural primary school in China. With Russia visible directly across the Heilongjiang River, this remote area is more than 130 kilometers from Mohe. Along the way are snow-covered sandstone roads, primeval forests and high mountain ranges. 

北红小学位于黑龙江漠河市北极镇，是中国版图上最北端的乡村小学，和俄罗斯隔江相望。学校位置极为偏僻，要从大兴安岭漠河城区出发驱车130多公里，走过深雪覆盖的砂石公路，穿越层层原始森林，翻越一群大山才能到达。

This school has only 7 pupils, and Wang Zhonglei is one of the two teachers.

目前，这所小学有2名教师、7名学生。王忠雷便是教师之一。

After graduation from university in 2009, Wang passed the qualifying test to become a "special post" teacher in Beihong Primary School, in a national program to promote education in China's underdeveloped western region. "On the list of schools to sign up for us candidates, Beihong was the only one without the word 'village' in its name. I signed up this school without hesitation as I guessed the facilities should be better," he recalled with a smile.

2009年，王忠雷大学毕业，通过特岗教师考试来到了北红小学。“报名时，在长长的岗位名单上，唯独北红小学不带‘村’字，以为条件会好一些，所以毫不犹豫地选报了这所学校。” 他笑道。

Eventually Wang found things were entirely different from what he had imagined. "The walls inside the rooms were mended with used newspapers and plastic cloth, unsuitable for living in. There was no power, nor cell phone signal. It was nowhere," he said. At the age of 23, Wang felt lost and "cheated".

可是，来到北红小学后，王忠雷才发现这里的条件其实是最艰苦的。“屋里贴的全是报纸，棚上粘一块塑料布，根本住不了。”“没有电、手机也没信号，这里完全与世隔绝。”23的王忠雷哪里吃过这种苦，顿时有种“上当”的感觉。

Wang's girlfriend Yu Jing was from the same university. When she had a chance to teach in the southernmost Hainan Province, Wang thought about going with her, "as soon as everything was on track". But he ended up teaching in Beihong for 9 years.

王忠雷的女朋友叫于晶，两人是大学校友。毕业时，于晶本有机会去海南当老师，王忠雷也考虑一起去，他心里想着“把学生教成型了就走”，可曾想，这一干就是9年。

In 2013, Yu quit her job and joined Wang in Beihong school. Despite of the poor conditions, they feel a strong sense of mission when faced with the wishful eyes of the pupils. They're determined to help these kids leave their tiny village and shake off poverty.

2013年，于晶为了爱情，也为了更好地帮助王忠雷，放弃了自己原本的工作，来到这里与他“并肩战斗”。虽然这里条件艰苦，但看到孩子们那一双双求知眼睛，他们心中就会涌起一股强大的使命感：要尽自己最大的努力，争取让孩子们都走出去，摆脱贫穷。

The area around Mohe has a frigid climate. The temperature could drop down to minus 50 degrees at the coldest time of the year and the kids couldn't even write inside the room because their hands were so numb from the cold. In the first days, Wang had to learn to chop wood and make a fire all by himself.

漠河地区气候严寒，最冷的时候气温达零下50度，老师和孩子们的手都冻得通红，根本写不出字来。王忠雷刚到这里的时候，烧柴取暖都需要自己来。

On the last day of the 2011 winter vacation, Wang went to Mohe county to get the pupils' study materials. It began to snow on the way back. Due to safety concerns, the driver had to drop Wang 20km from the school and return later. Rather than leave the kids with no textbooks, Wang decided to go back on foot. He nearly got lost in the mountains after trudging for three hours in the snow. Fortunately, he was found and escorted back to the village by an old forest ranger. He went home to find that the boots wouldn't come off as the snow had frozen on his feet.  

2011年寒假的最后一天，他去县城给孩子们拿资料，不料，回程的时候下起了大雪，出于安全考虑，在距离学校20多公里的地方，司机半路折回。为了不耽误孩子们开学，王忠雷决定徒步走回学校。他走了近三小时，差点在大山里迷路。幸好被管护站的大爷遇到了他，将他送回村里。回到宿舍他才发现，由于雪水化了又冻，冻了又化，鞋子已经脱不下来了。

In the same winter, Wang nearly got poisoned due his coal heater burning incorrectly. Before he lost consciousness, he crawled to the door and pushed it open. Lying on the cold ground for hours, he got frostbite on his feet.   

同年冬天，由于宿舍的煤火没有燃净，王忠雷差点煤气中毒，幸好他坚持着爬到门口，推开门，才捡回一条命。但是，由于在寒冷的冬夜趴了几小时，他的双脚留下了难以治愈的冻疮，至今仍受折磨。

Wang always cares for his pupils, and he's often invited to the villagers' houses. "I've had dinners in every household here," says Wang. During the vacations, his pupils would call and ask: "Mr. Wang, will you come back next semester?”

在工作中，王忠雷对学生十分关心。村民们也对王忠雷非常热情，经常邀请他去家里吃饭。王忠雷表示，“每家的饭菜都尝过”。放假时，北红的孩子们经常会在电话里问：“王老师，下个学期你还回来吗?”

 "It's very subtle, but the longer you stay with these kids, the harder it is to leave. If I left them, I'd be afraid that no one else would be willing to come here, and this school could be closed. These children are too young to look after themselves. I'd feel sorry if they had to go to a school faraway."

“感情这东西很微妙，在这里时间长了跟这些孩子很难分开。如果我走了，就不会再有老师来，那么这所小学也就有可能被撤掉。孩子们这么小，生活还不能自理，让他们出去上学我于心不忍。”王忠雷说。

After a long and fierce inner struggle, he made the decision to stay in the northernmost mountains of his motherland, and to keep these children accompanied. He and Yu eventually started their own family there and began to live like the locals.

王忠雷考虑了很久，终于下定决心，他要继续坚守在祖国的最北端，坚守在这大山深处，陪伴在学生的身边。如今，他和于晶有了自己的家庭，在漠河安安心心地过起了日子。

As Wang says, being a teacher is ordinary and noble. It's a mission to shape souls. He feels lucky to standing on the podium. And he hopes his teaching career can be long and fruitful.

正如王忠雷所说，教师这个职业平凡而又伟大，是塑造灵魂的使命。他很庆幸，感激命运赐给了他这一神圣的职业。他希望自己在教书育人的这条路上，踏实地走好每一步。

Cameraman:Zhou Yue

Filmeditor: Luo Siyi, Ma Mingyuan

Englisheditor: Josh McNally

Storywritten by: Zhang Zijia

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