Students have meals at the canteen of the Central Primary School in Nyangpo Township, Gongbo'Gyamda County, Nyingchi City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Sept. 3, 2024.

Located at an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters, the primary school faced severe challenges when it was established in 1994, with poor teaching facilities and surging teacher turnover.

To help solve these problems and improve local education, schools in Zhongshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, organized paired-up assistance with all primary and secondary schools in Gongbo'Gyamda County in 2016, focusing on providing teaching materials and teachers' training.

Benefiting from the aiding efforts of Guangdong, advanced teaching facilities and heating systems have been installed in teaching buildings, and standard basketball courts and football fields have also been built in the schoolyard.

Guangdong's assistance is just a part of China's national paired-up assistance to the development of Xizang. Thirty years ago, the central government made a major decision to rally national support for Xizang.

Under the paired-up assistance policy, some central state organs, provincial-level regions and centrally-administered state-owned enterprises were designated to assist in specific areas in the region.  

Since then, cadres from government and enterprise units have taken turns stationed on the plateau, greatly contributing to the development there. [Xinhua/Jigme Dorje]