The seventh batch of 100 local teachers who volunteered to work in undeveloped western regions of the country set off for their new assignments yesterday.

The teachers will work in Yunnan Province for one year, the Shanghai Education Commission said.

"We are encouraging young teachers to contribute their efforts and knowledge to the underdeveloped regions, and the experience of teaching in Yunnan will enrich their lives," vice mayor Yang Dinghua said during a farewell party yesterday morning.

Li Li, one of the teachers who is a volunteer from Shaoyun Middle School, said she was a little anxious before yesterday's departure.

"Yunnan is completely strange for me and I have never been there," she said. "But it has been my dream for many years to teach there, which will be a challenge for me."

(Shanghai Daily August 29, 2007)