China is well known for a lot of things: lead-painted toys, tasty food, over-population and for marginalizing groups who don’t go along with the majority. Many Chinese live in extreme poverty and a story came out late last week about a dozen children in the Zhaojue county, and their dangerous trek to school.
Maybe your Dad bragged about walking 15 miles in snowstorms just to take classes in a one-room schoolhouse. That tale has nothing on this reality. These kids climb 2500 feet on bamboo ladders to reach their school. Read the story and see photos here: LA Times.
The children, ranging in age from six to fifteen, board at the school for two weeks at a time. They live in a remote region in the country’s west, where people are poor and rely on farming potatoes, chili peppers and walnuts to make a meagre living. Since their treacherous trek received world-wide attention, officials have visited the site and are considering installing a steel staircase until they can come up with a more permanent solution. Until then, the children will strap on their backpacks and climb 17 rickety ladders in order to get an education.