Harsh conditions

In Zhang's school, the upper and lower parts of the wall of the one-story building were made from bricks, while the middle course was made from soil.

Inside, the only facilities were a blackboard that had turned white due to overuse and some old wooden desks and chairs.

Despite the harsh conditions, Zhang's hardworking students helped her keep going.

The high cost of electricity meant they used candles to study at night, and each candle was shared between two people to save money.

"One day, when I was closing my dorm curtains to sleep, I saw some students outside my window, using the dim light to read," Zhang said. After that, she only closed the curtains when absolutely necessary.

Ye Nan, who volunteered to teach in Ningxia in 2005, was moved by his students' simple aspirations, as they didn't dream of becoming politicians or business moguls.

Rather, one boy said he wanted to learn Mandarin so he could communicate with the outside world and help develop his hometown.

"Those children were like the unknown grass in a mountain gully. Every time I saw the tenacious grass in Xihaigu's barren land, I felt that the kids were struggling with the hope of life," Ye said.

Peng, who is teaching in Xihaigu's Haiyuan county, said the volunteers provide much more than traditional tuition, offering language, art and science classes to enrich campus life.

In the wake of the TV series, many students from Xiamen University have contacted her about the volunteer project, she said.

In the essays her students wrote about their hometowns, she was happy to see the great changes in their lives.

In the past 20 years, volunteer teachers from Xiamen have raised 10.7 million yuan ($1.65 million) for local children through various methods and contributed to local public welfare projects.

Zhang, the first teacher, has visited Ningxia three times since 1999, bringing businesspeople who donated funds. "I see life-changing achievements, but each time I visit I still treat myself to a bowl of potato noodles," she said.

Yang Jie in Fuzhou contributed to this story.