Low beginnings, high achievers

• Source: Global Times
• [22:16 November 19 2009]
• Comments

A tiny village in Jiangxi Province, with a population of less than 400, is locally acclaimed as the "village of doctors" after producing 50 doctors within 100 years, all of whom attained their medical degrees both at home and abroad.

The community's name, Zhonghu stems from the fact that a significant number of the residents, past and present, are surnamed Hu, including native sons, Hu Xianxiao, "the founder of Chinese biology," and famed geneticist Hu Kai.

Ironically, Zonghum attributes its unusually high academic achievement rate to its harsh living conditions and poverty.

A better life through education has been a priority since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when the village began producing its first Imperial Scholars.

Presently 82 students are studying in Zonghum's lone, run-down primary school, but at the edge of the village stands a wall where the history of the Hu clan is recorded, along with the lives and academic accomplishments of those who strove to learn more in order to leave.

Xinhua