Students on their way home. Photo by Yan Shi.
China News Service, Baojing, Jan. 11 (Yi Guo) — Recently, an online post titled "Another Skyway to School: Hunan’s Baojing Middle School Students Climb Ropes to Get to Class" has touched the hearts of netizens. The author has learned that the rope-and-cliff route mentioned in the post has now been sealed off with brick walls and marked with warning signs. On the 11th, over 700 students were escorted home safely by their teachers after finishing their final exams.
The aforementioned post claimed that in Shuitian Township, Baojing County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, around fifty to sixty students travel to Hansha Township Middle School at the foot of the mountain every week. A section of the route to school includes a cliff about 10 meters high, which the students must scale using two hemp ropes tied to a small tree on the cliff. The ropes have been frayed by sharp rocks jutting out from the cliff face, making the situation extremely dangerous. The post included videos and multiple photos showing the perilous conditions of the path, which were shocking to viewers.
In response to the dangerous situation of "students climbing ropes to school," the Hansha Township Government of Baojing County sent personnel to conduct an on-site investigation and verification. On January 7, the Hansha Township People's Government immediately rectified the safety hazard and promptly issued a public reply clarifying the facts. The reply stated that the ropes were set up by hikers, and that there is actually a safe route to school. The students had been using the ropes simply to shorten their journey by 500 meters. Hansha Township has since removed the ropes and built brick walls to block the climbing area. Warning signs have been erected at both ends of the path, and the school and village committee have educated students and villagers through various means not to climb this route but to use the “Dukong” main road instead.
Jin Min, head of Hansha Township, said that the blockage is only a temporary safety measure. In the next step, Hansha Township will actively seek funding and project approval to accelerate infrastructure improvements and resolve the issue of inconvenient access to schools—including for students from Geru Village—to ensure student safety.
On the 9th and 11th, during the winter break following final exams at Hansha Township Middle School, school principal Shi Xianguai stated that after the exams, 53 teachers from the school braved the rain and escorted students in groups. The trips took as little as half an hour, and as long as six hours, but all students were safely sent home.
Lin Wanshun, director of the Baojing County People’s Government Education Supervision Office, said that with the approaching winter break for schools across the county, the county education bureau has strengthened inspections and rectifications of potential safety hazards at all schools. Emphasis has been placed on supervising student safety during commutes to and from school, as well as improving safety protections and oversight at construction sites to prevent accidents that could harm students.