Crumbling school in Guangdong

Guangdong province may be the "world's factory," prosperous and bustling (modulo a few toy-factory riots), but the development there is wildly uneven, as is evidenced by this shambolic school in Heyuan City:

On December 25, 2008, the South.cn's Guangdong Development Forum carried a series of photos of the perilous conditions at the Jiutang Elementary School in Zijin County, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province. The school was called as the "most run-down school in Guangdong province."

The person who made the post also divulged: "Jiutang Elementary School has witnessed 60 years of storms under which the helpless children attempt to learn. During the rainy season, the teacher and his students lived in fear. The relevant government departments paid no attention to them. Can the young flowers of the motherland be neglected this way?" In the same post, there were also photographs of the majestic buildings of the relevant government departments in Zijin county. This was a way for expressing the anger over the long-term negligence of the problems at the Jiutang Elementary School.

This story about the bitter lives of these children was shocking. Within a few days, the photos became red-hot on the Internet.

But many Chinese people clearly do not have knowledge about the uneven development within Guangdong province. Given the "aura of the number one province in terms of the economy," many netizens were skeptical about these photos who looked like as if they belong in western China. "Can there be places that are this impoverished in Guangdong province?"

The Most Run-down School in Guangdong Province