A high-grade Muslim kindergarten opened Monday in the remote mountainous Tongxin County, one of China's poorest areas, in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Children will receive education in Chinese, English and Arabic at the kindergarten, which is furnished with modern teaching equipment, said Ma Ling, head of the kindergarten.

"Though there have been some kindergartens in the area, none of them meets the state standards in teaching and hardware resources. My husband and I decided to invest 4.65 million yuan (US$560,240) to build the kindergarten," said Ma.

"The money comes from the profits of our family farm. We might have spent it on larger houses or better cars, but it prickled us when seeing so many people still struggling in poverty at my hometown," Ma said.

Three-year-old Su Ruoying epitomizes features of Hui girls with big brown eyes, long eyelashes and curly hair. Fresh at the newly-built kindergarten, she appeared a little nervous.

"Few girls were sent to kindergartens in the old days, but we hope our daughter can learn something here in her early childhood," said the girl's mother Ma Shaojing.

Located in the southern mountains of Ningxia, the county is home to the most Hui people in the region. In the street, almost all males wear traditional white caps, and females, if not behind veils, dress the same way. Magnificent mosques are still the most conspicuous constructions in the urban county and rural villages.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2004)