Rural students attend science summer camp

Students and teachers from Meigu county, in Sichuan province's Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, take part in a science summer camp in Beijing. [Photo by Xu Lin/chinadaily.com.cn]

About 20 primary school students and teachers from Meigu county, in Sichuan province's Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, took part in a science summer camp in Beijing from Aug 24 to 28.

Seagate Technology, one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives, and the China Youth Development Foundation organized the camp to broaden the students' horizons and enrich their summer vacation.

"I'm glad that we can do something for the children, who will fly high in the sky on the wings of their dreams, unrestricted by the hardships in their lives. I was touched by their innocent eyes when I taught them in class," said Sun Dan, president of the China region of Seagate.

The students were from the Central Primary School in Dianbu and the Haluo Town Seagate Hope Primary School. It was the first time for them to leave their remote mountain region and see the outside world.

Most students of the schools are from poor families, and have to walk for about two hours to school on a zigzagging road through the mountainous area. The paths become muddy in the rainy season and some students can't even afford an umbrella.