Zhang Jiamei

Zhang Jiamei (Chinese: 张佳梅; pinyin: Zhāngjiāméi; June 1957) is Secretary of the Party Branch and Principal of the Huaping Girls' Senior High School in Lijiang, South Province, and Director of the Children's Welfare Center in Huaping County. She gave educational opportunities to more than 1800 students from the countryside of China.

Early life

Zhang Meigui was born in June 1957 in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province. She later changed her name to Zhang Jiamei. When she was young, her mother died from a disease. Then, she went to Yunnan province with her sister. She took the college entrance examination of China, Gao Kao, four times for multiple reasons, including financial issues, loss of important legal documents, and performance stress. Eventually, she chose to attend Lijiang Pedagogy, which is close to her home. There she met her husband, who also works in education.

Career

Zhang Jiamei and her husband taught in Dali, Yunnan province. They attended schools in the mountains with the aim of sending more kids into the city and seeing the world. In 1996, her husband died from stomach cancer. She left Dali, where she stayed for more than 20 years, and went to Lijiang because she wanted to leave this memorable place. Within a year, she was on the verge of death due to fibroids, but luckily she healed. The local government paid for all the fees. After surviving, Zhang Jiamei dedicated herself to providing free education opportunities to girls from impoverished areas. Noticing that those girls often get married and work in the field or the factory, she realized the need to promote education opportunities and allow those girls to achieve a better life. With this goal in mind, she decided to open a completely free school for girls. Jiamei had trouble gathering enough money to start the school because farmers nearby did not believe knowledge could earn money. This reinforced Jiamei's mind in the need for education for people in impoverished areas. From 2002 to 2007, Jiamei only gathered ten thousand RMB for the school. The twist happened during her trip to Beijing. A newspaper reported that her good cause was expanding education, which led to the support of many local governments.

In August 2008, Hwapyeong Girls' Senior Secondary School was finally completed.

Tuition is free, accommodation is fully covered, and various grants are available to the students. Over the past 12 years, this high school has graduated a total of 10 classes of students, from which 1,804 girls from impoverished areas entered their dream universities. Some of these children have entered China's top universities, such as Sichuan University, Xiamen University, Wuhan University, Zhejiang University, and so on. Zhang Jiamei provided these girls the opportunities to achieve their dreams and change their social status.

Influence

Zhang Jiamei's story inspired numerous movies and dramas: the musical “Bloom” in June 2021, the TV series “The Girls' School in the Big Mountain" in July 2022, and the movie "I Would Have Been a High Mountain" in November 2023.