“Teacher, what time is it over there?”

At 10 a.m. on June 2, in the library of Damu Township, Xian’an District, children from Changshou Middle School and Changshou Primary School looked up, staring at the big screen. On the other end of the screen was late-night New York, where Sphinx, a Chinese student living in the United States, was smiling. The 12-hour time difference was like a thread, connecting the green of the Damu Mountains in southern Hubei with the nightscape of Manhattan.

Sphinx holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and now works as an analyst in New York. Using the title “Beyond the Scale of Daily Life,” she took the children on a view of Earth from space, talked about her 30-kilometer walk across Manhattan, and then discussed rice noodle rolls in New York’s Chinatown and hot dry noodles from her hometown of Wuhan. She didn’t lecture or set standard answers, just chatted with the children as if they were younger siblings. After class, Shen Xinlei, a seventh-grader at Changshou Middle School, wrote in a survey: “I look forward to going out and seeing this vast world, even if my starting point is just the mountains.”

Damu Township is one of the most remote townships in Xian’an, with many people working away from home. For a long time, the township’s party committee and government have been thinking about one thing: how to help children in the mountains shift from “passive learning” to “active growth,” and let them know that life has more possibilities.

In December 2025, the township party secretary, Tang Yang, turned his alumni network from Peking University into a cross-border “lecturer supply chain.” A public lecture program called “Soaring Over Damu Mountain” was launched: regularly at the township library, through a cloud classroom combining “online + offline” and “domestic + international,” young people studying and working around the world are invited to share their real experiences and talk with the mountain children about what the “outside world” is really like.

At the first lecture on December 12 last year, Xu Teng, a doctoral student from Tsinghua University, stood before the children and talked about how he “collected trash to make designs” as a child. He told them: “Don’t let your environment limit your imagination. Observe, record, go out—every step is a path to the world.” That same day, Gu Xiaoyan, a student in Australia, connected via the cloud and “blew” the wind of Sydney into the mountain village of southern Hubei.

Since then, one window after another has opened—a doctoral student from Indonesia talked about the Javanese market and the lively atmosphere of Jakarta, an engineer from Tajikistan showed children BYD electric cars on the streets of Dushanbe, a doctor from Turkey discussed the life philosophy of “stop and chat for a while” at a tea stall in Istanbul, and a master’s student from Oxford University honestly admitted that even top universities have a “remote feeling” where you need to take a train to go out and play…

To date, “Soaring Over Damu Mountain” has attracted over 100 primary and secondary school students. The changes are tangible: originally introverted children have become more outgoing and talkative, their perspectives on issues and thinking have broadened, and discussions during breaks have turned into “I want to go there and see.” One teacher remarked: “Before, children thought the world was far away; now some dare to write in their essays that they want to go to Istanbul for tea.”

These real changes are exactly what Damu Township aims for. Township officials often say: “The mountains are still there; we don’t have to move them, but we can help each child first send their gaze over the peak.”

Rural revitalization begins with education. Doing education well means not just building classrooms or upgrading facilities, but more importantly, opening windows one by one, so that children in the mountains have light in their hearts and direction under their feet.

The Damu Mountains still stand tall, but the screen that lights up regularly in the library has already allowed more and more eyes to look toward the broader world beyond the mountains.

Columbia University

Columbia University, located in New York City, is a prestigious Ivy League research institution founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of King George II. It is the oldest institution of higher education in New York State and one of the nine colonial colleges established before the American Revolution. Today, Columbia is renowned for its rigorous academics, influential alumni, and its central role in global research and culture.

Manhattan

Manhattan is the cultural, financial, and commercial heart of New York City, originally inhabited by the Lenape people before being colonized by the Dutch in the early 17th century as New Amsterdam. It later became a British colony and played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, eventually growing into a global hub of immigration, art, and commerce. Today, Manhattan is famous for iconic landmarks like Times Square, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty, reflecting its rich history as a center of innovation and diversity.

New York’s Chinatown

New York’s Chinatown, one of the oldest and largest Chinese enclaves in the Western Hemisphere, began forming in the mid-19th century as Chinese immigrants, primarily from Guangdong province, settled in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It has since evolved into a vibrant cultural and commercial hub, known for its bustling streets, authentic cuisine, and historic landmarks like the Mahayana Buddhist Temple. The neighborhood reflects the rich heritage and resilience of the Chinese American community, despite facing challenges such as discrimination and urban development.

Peking University

Peking University, founded in 1898 as the Imperial University of Peking, is one of China’s oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning. Located in Haidian District, Beijing, it played a key role in the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement, fostering intellectual and political change. Today, it is known for its beautiful campus, academic excellence, and influence in both Chinese and global education.

Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University, located in Beijing, China, was established in 1911 as Tsinghua Xuetang, a preparatory school for students planning to study in the United States. It later evolved into a prestigious research university, playing a key role in modern Chinese history and education. Today, Tsinghua is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world, known for its strong programs in engineering, technology, and sciences.

Oxford University

Oxford University, located in Oxford, England, is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world, with teaching dating back to the 11th century. It grew rapidly after 1167 when King Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. The university comprises 39 semi-autonomous colleges, each with its own history and traditions, and has educated numerous notable figures, including 28 British prime ministers and many world leaders.

Istanbul

Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is a historic Turkish city straddling Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Founded by Greek colonists in the 7th century BCE, it later became the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires, serving as a major cultural and economic crossroads for centuries. Today, it remains famous for landmarks like the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, reflecting its rich and layered history.

Damu Mountains

The Damu Mountains, located in Gansu Province, China, are a significant cultural and historical site known for their ancient petroglyphs dating back thousands of years. These rock carvings depict scenes of hunting, dancing, and daily life, offering valuable insights into the region’s prehistoric nomadic cultures. The area remains an important archaeological and tourist destination, preserving the artistic legacy of early inhabitants.