‍"What do you do if you see a snake?” I asked.

Growing up by China's eastern coast, I honestly have no clue what I could do but run and scream.

But 14-year-old local girl Ran Haiyan is used to situations like this.

"I'll just pick up a rock and hit it," she said. "Usually, it will leave."

Ran lives on the school campus in Longfeng Town, deep in the mountains in central China's Hubei Province, Monday through Friday. On weekends, she takes a bus and then walks for 90 minutes along desire mountain roads to reach her remote home.

Her next dream is to attend a local high school, known for its highest teaching standard in the area.

"And after that, I wish to attend a university."

Ran knows her dreams would have no hope of coming true without the sacrifices of her teachers.

"They would have had more opportunities if they left the mountains," she said.

Teng Yun is one of the 40-some teachers at Ran's Longma School. Once a teacher in the city, she came to the village last year to support rural education.

"Teaching in the city is, of course, a lot more comfortable," Teng said. "I can live at my home and the overall conditions are much better than here."

Still, she wants to stay.

"Most school students in the city have their parents alongside them, but this isn't really the case for village school kids. Most of them are 'leftover children'," the teacher said. 

Teng spoke of one child who has lived with her grandmother ever since her parents got divorced.

The kid used to carry an empty rice bag as her schoolbag, Teng recalled, who then secretly gave her a backpack.

"I can't leave them. If I left, they'd be alone."

Teachers in Longma School visit students' homes frequently, hoping to get the kids' parents to pay more attention to their children's education.

"We would expect parents to work with us, getting the students' homework done, revising what we've taught at school and stuff like that," Teng said. 

Many of the village kids' parents didn't have the chance to finish high school and have to work relentlessly to earn the living and support the family.

The teacher pointed out the problem – parents often don't have much experience of formal education and struggle to find time to focus on their children's studies. 

"This requires us to really go deep (into their family life)," principal of the school Wu Yanfeng said, although that means traveling hundreds of kilometers on mountain roads.

The 36-year-old hopes more volunteers will join the team, for the good of all the kids here.

"The overall conditions in the villages are getting a lot better, but we lack teachers," he said.

"We really need more people to devote themselves to rural education. We sincerely hope those college graduates who have a passion for education and a caring heart for children can come to join us here."

When asked whether she would ever return to the mountainous village if she gets a degree from a prestigious university, she gave a firm and solid "YES."

"I have a dream. There aren't that many books in my home. When I get richer, I want to build a library in our village so that books are always available for those who wish to read."

(Video filmed by Fu Gaoliang, edited by Li Zhao)

Editor's note: Check out more on what I did during the 15 days I spent in the village:

In central China's Longfeng Town: Matcha helps battle poverty

Taking you to the World's natural wonder— Enshi Grand Canyon