On Oct 13, 445 students at the Dazhai Primary and Middle School in Tanchang county, Gansu province were cheered up with a surprise gift of 100 kg of winter jujubes donated by Youai village in Tianjin municipality. Both Dazhai and Youai villages are being assisted by Tianjin University on their road to prosperity.

Students at Dazhai School celebrate the arrival of the jujubes.

Wang Haotian, the leader of Tianjin University's graduate volunteer teaching group at the Dazhai School, came up with the event. He used to be a member of the university’s volunteer group, which helped Youai promote jujube sales and made the industry a pillar of the village’s rural vitalization.

"The jujubes take the village's name as their brand name, which conveys a sense of love and care. When I was inspired by our university’s annual fruit festival and thought about arranging a similar activity for the students at Dazhai School, the Youai jujube came to my mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could unite the two together on their road to prosperity?”Wang contacted Youai village officials and fruit farmers, who decided to donate 100 kg of jujubes to students at Dazhai.

Villagers from Youai pick and pack the jujubes for donation.

Wang Xiaohang, director of the village office, hoped to send blessings from himself and his fellow villagers to young students at Dazhai. "May the jujubes sweeten their lives and contribute to their health. As our villages become better and better, the kids will enjoy a happy and affluent life,” Wang said.

Tianjin University has partnered up with several remote villages in their poverty eradication efforts and served as a bridge among the villages by building 100 classrooms for local students, as well as providing volunteer teachers.