Completing a math assignment on a slate, the girl student of the Hongze Lake floating school holds out her work for the teacher to check.

Hu purchased the 30-meter converted cargo vessel and moored it on Hongze Lake, about a three-hour drive from Nanjing, the province capital. Its colorful flags are visible for miles, and the sound of the children's recitation resound over the lake.

On closer inspection, though, the school-ship is in poor shape, with spiderwebs here and there, and some parts clearly no longer safe. But thanks to this boat, 45 children are able to do something that big-city kids take for granted -- go to school. Eight-year-old Huang Lanjie and his classmates are smaller and thinner than most children of their age, as Xuyi County is a relatively poor area, but the pupils are nevertheless energetic.

"Now I can count to 14!'' exclaims Huang proudly, his enchanting big black eyes twinkling. Xia Xuemei, 10, practices Chinese characters on the blackboard with her thin hands. Her difficult life has marked her far too early. But she is thrilled that with Hu's help, she can now go to school like other children. The sun beats down on the tattered deck.

It's a sweltering 33 degrees Celsius, but the children are putting on their best clothes: the school uniforms that were donated last year by the local county education commission. On top of the uniforms, they wear old orange lifejackets.

Big-city favorites like Harry Potter and Star Wars mean nothing to these rural children. Hu is the source of their knowledge.

Hu, 46, made a good living raising crabs on Hongze Lake. The idea of improving education in this outback area had been on his mind for years. "I used to open a grocery store here after I made some money. A lot of kids came to the store to buy cigarettes for their fathers, and I discovered that they didn't know how to write the brand of cigarettes they wanted -- they could only identify the color of the pack.

And they didn't know how much change they should get back. I was shocked,'' Hu explains, a dour expression on his face.

"I was determined to provide these children with some basic education with my past teaching experience.'' Hu was a primary teacher before he started his crab farming business. Most of the pupils' parents are local fishermen, many of whom are down-and-out because of a persistent drought in the area. Education has long been a low priority there.

Many of the young people aged between 12 to 20 in the 38 families of the village are literate. There is only one primary school, located several kilometers away. School salaries have gone unpaid for long stretches, causing many teachers to leave. These conditions made for bleak prospects for local children. Hu began tutoring children who loitered on the banks of the lake while their parents were working. He rounded them up and gave classes in an abandoned shack. The kids reacted enthusiastically, and their pals gradually joined them. When the number of pupils reached 30, Hu started scouting for a larger classroom.

He struck upon the idea of a boat, thinking that a mobile school might be more convenient for fishing families. In 2000, Hu took out a loan of nearly 40,000 yuan (US$4,820) and bought the second-hand cargo boat. He hoped to break even by charging a small tuition fee. Since the opening of the floating school, every morning has seen fishing boats streaming from every direction to bring children to the Hu's school.

But it lacks many of the amenities of a proper school: it has no access to a playground, auditorium, science or computer labs, and the pupils must make do with the minimum of supplies -- they even have to light candles when it's overcast. Fire safety is a real issue.

To save costs, students write on slates instead of paper, raising concern about the effect of chalk dust on their respiratory systems. And the restroom is just two holes at the stern of the boat. At the start, Hu was principal, teacher, accountant, maintenance man -- and captain -- all in one. He first gutted the boat and refurbished it into two classrooms, plus an office and kitchen. He taught Chinese and math, the only two subjects he is qualified to teach. Tuition was set at 168 yuan a semester.

The students are doing so well that some parents send their children from kilometers away.

Hu didn't stop with just the Xiyu County's children, either. He organized free literacy classes on board in the evening for some local youths who have been turned away from menial jobs in big cities because they are unable to read and write. Now, the cramped ship is teeming with adult students every night. Almost every fisherman on Hongze Lake has attended Hu's classes. But not everything has gone according to plan.

Hu's crab business is close to bankruptcy because of the drought, and many fishermen parents must write him IOUs for tuition fees because their livelihoods are threatened, too. He had to increase his debt in order to keep operating. Hu doesn't know how long he can hold out, but the loyalty and trust of his students fuel his determination to keep pushing forward.

He is inspired by a quotation from Chairman Mao posted on the shabby wall of his floating classroom that translates roughly as "Where there's a will, there's a way.'' Fortunately, it's no longer a solitary struggle for Hu, as two others have joined him in his selfless crusade. Pan Jianzhong, 38, left the county school and teaches Chinese at the boat school -- a one-hour bicycle ride away from his home where Pan's wife attends to the family's farm fields. Xiao Aiying, 58, a retired teacher, was also moved by Hu's mission.

She teaches music and art at the boat school, which is about 60 kilometers away. Word of Hu's floating school has started to spread, and assistance from sympathetic institutions may enable Hongze Lake students to continue their education.

Among them is Amway Corporation which has donated 47,000 yuan to cover the repairing of the boat, operating costs including two-year salary for teachers, and other teaching facilities, such as desks and reading materials. But with an estimated 30 additional children hoping to attend Hu's school in the upcoming new fall semester which begins on September 2, more aid is needed. Hu says it's not very likely that his rural students will attend college. But it is certain that a boat-school education will help them be more successful in life.

"It's of vital importance that basic education becomes part of the bone and sinew of rural villages,'' Hu says with feeling.

"These kids must be prepared with survival knowledge and skills.'' Without the distractions of big-city life, students at his floating school are soaking up all the learning Hu can dish out -- and returning his dedication with admiration and gratitude.

(eastday.com September 2, 2002 )