CGTN has recently launched a four-episode documentary series China Aspirations. The docuseries showcases a year-long journey of 24 groups of people from all lines of work across four continents to find out why China has become what it is today and what it might do in the future, from playing an 8,000-year-old bone flute to exploring the quantum world, and from learning about the life of a single working mom in Kenya to the aspirations of a female entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia. The following is one of the stories:

Isolated by mountains, Dadai Village in Congjiang County of southwest China's Guizhou Province has been one of China's most impoverished areas for decades. It was also among the country's last villages to shake off poverty by the end of 2020. But education, seen by the Chinese government as key to eradicating poverty, had still been somehow neglected in the village.

In many remote villages in China, locals often don't realize that better education can be a way out of poverty and give them much more control over where life takes them.

Pan Dehua is one of around 3 million workers in China's poverty alleviation program. Pan has worked at Dadai Primary School in Dadai Village for three years.

When she found that a boy in her class named Pan Jiwang was skipping classes, she was worried and decided to talk to him.

The teacher asked the boy what kind of life he wants to live in the future, and learned that the boy knew the way to a good life is to go to school.

"When I found you were not at school, I was so anxious," said the teacher.

Pan Dehua told the boy that his family's conditions are not as good as others, and this is exactly why he should study harder. The teacher was so worried and she even cried when she told the boy how she was concerned about him.

"You impressed me the most in your class. Though you are not my son, I'm more concerned about you than about my own child," she said.

"He will be better. I can see that he's a smart boy, and he just needs someone to guide him. If we all give up on him, his future will be affected," the teacher said with hope in her eyes.

After Pan Dehua's visit, Pan Jiwang has decided to return to school and attend the classes on time every day.

Poverty alleviation requires a change of attitude and the support of education. With concerted efforts by all sectors of society, education in Dadai Village has been improved greatly. In December 2020, the county announced that the region was lifted out of absolute poverty.