New TV series shows story of respectable Yunnan educator

Promotional material of She and Her Girls Photo: Courtesy of Tencent Video

Wearing a shabby helmet and riding a scooter up and down on the bumpy dirt road, she finally drove to the door of a student's house but saw someone coming to propose marriage.

She yelled at the ­matchmaker, "If she were your daughter, at such an age, are you willing to let her get married?"

In the yard across the door, the girl who had to give up her studies was feeding the pigs with an expressionless face as she watched her drunken father.

It is the opening scene of Chinese TV series She and Her Girls, which is based on true stories of Zhang Guimei, the founder of a free public school for girls deep in the maintain.

All of China loves Zhang as an education pioneer who helped young girls to have the chance to get educated and choose their future.

We have read about Zhang and got her story from various news reports as she devoted her passion and time to these girls living in the mountainous areas.

Still, the series that has been aired on national TV and a streaming site since ­Teachers' Day on September 10 has given us a chance to see the power of faith and the charm of ordinary people just like you and me.

For years, Zhang, the 67-year-old principal of ­Huaping High School for Girls in Huaping county of Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, has been providing free education to girls from impoverished mountain areas, helping them change their destinies through the national college entrance examination, known as gaokao in Chinese.

Each year, she accompanied her students to take the exam, a touching scene that moved countless people.

Even days after the first ­episode was aired, one of Zhang's words still lingered in my ear.

"An educated woman can stop herself from being a vine attached to others and can choose the life she wants to live," she said.

Her words reminded us, not just me, but also young audiences to pay attention and concerns to explore topics worthy discussions like the personal growth, choices and education in the context of remote villages.

The series' cast must have spent a lot of time and effort in research before the shooting started.

It not only portrays Zhang as a great teacher with ­determination to help her students, but also outlines the harsh ­condition of these girls' families living in the mountains.

It also firmly grasps the hearts of the audiences.

Realistic and delicate, the series is making efforts in portraying the role model in details.

Everyone who has watched it shared the same feeling that actress Song Jia managed to be as close as the role who is a household name in China.

I believe that everyone who has watched She and Her Girls will admire and respect Zhang as she, like a mountain flower blooming on a cliff, uses her life to light the way forward for children in the mountains.