Li Zuqing, a 60-year-old teacher, sharpens a pencil for his students at a school in a remote mountainous area in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Li lost his right leg due to a poisonous snake bite and is fitted with an artificial limb. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Li Zuqing, a 60-year-old, one-legged teacher, has been working in obscurity in a remote mountainous area in Guilin, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, for nearly 40 years since graduating from university.

Li has endured many hardships in his life. His right leg was bitten by a poisonous snake on April 15, 1981, when he was on his way to visit a student's home. The wound became infected and led to muscle atrophy and bone necrosis. He walked with crutches until August 2005, when he had an amputation and was fitted with an artificial limb.

His hard life has never tempered Li's willpower, and he has taught in six village schools in the past 40 years. He arrives promptly at his classroom every morning, trudging across mountains and rivers and sometimes through wind and rain. On one particularly rainy day, Li lost his footing and fell from a mountain slope into a turbulent river. He escaped death by clutching to a tree trunk in the river.

While devoting his heart and soul to teaching, Li believes that only knowledge can change the fate of children who live in poverty-stricken areas. He tries his utmost to help his students achieve their dreams.

Li is happy with his student's achievements. Many of his students have enrolled in colleges and universities and gone on to work in a variety of fields.

"The healthy growth of the children in these villages has been the most beautiful part of my journey through life," he said.

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