These are sunflowers in my hometown, and they do look like the sun. We grow sunflowers in small open space between other crops. The fruit grows out of the centre of the sunflower. We usually call it melon seeds. We keep some of them for planting next year. The rest can be eaten, raw or fried. They make good snacks in leisure times.
Sunflowers can grow from a handful of seeds into an enormous patch to offer fruit to farmers. We, too, live towards the sun!
Wang Yating – A student at Dingxi No. 1 Secondary School who sat the University Entrance Examination in 2020 and awaiting admission results.
This is a very special summer vacation but I go to the field all the same to help with work, as in previous years.
This photo is taken when my parents and I are working in the field. We leave home early in the morning, greeted by the rising sun, and go home in sunset. When we are tired, we can watch the trees on the mountain and the clouds in the sky. A family together is a blessing. Although a little tired, I don’t find it toilsome as I am able to share the chores with my parents!
Zhang Pei – A student of Dingxi No. 1 Secondary School who sat University Entrance Examination in 2020 and is waiting for admission results.
My home is in Xinjiang. Because of the impact of the pandemic this year, I had been studying at home since the Spring Festival holiday, and classes did not start until mid to late May. On my way back to school, I went to the famous “Devil City” in Altay, Xinjiang. This is a scenic area of Yadan landform caused by wind erosion. It is so named because of the strange noise made by strong winds shuttling between rocks of different shapes and mounds. In Uyghur language, “Yadan” originally refers to a hill with steep cliffs. In geology, Yadan landform refers specifically to landscape formed by a series of parallel ridges and grooves after long-term wind erosion.
Since it was daytime when I went there, I didn’t experience the whirring wind but could only admire rocks in all shapes. I took a photo with the camel and experienced a camel ride. In fact, I should have come in the evening to watch Xinjiang in summer because very often, there are flaming clouds.
In Dunhuang, there is also a “Dunhuang Yadan Devil City” with an area of about 400 square kilometres. When the opportunity arises, I want be there to see the flaming Devil City of Yadan!
Bai Lingran – Sichuan Agricultural University
After graduation, I joined an institution as a teacher coaching students for examinations. I have just finished the concentration camp-style training in the Beijing headquarters, and am immediately dashing to Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, on a business trip.
I have never liked restraint. The “concentration camp” in Beijing made me breathless. At last, it’s done and my heart is full of freedom. So I simply changed the high-speed train to Qiqihar to a green train. On the journey, I can watch the Great Northeast and take time to prepare lessons. Evening happens to be around and I manage to capture the sunset. The setting sun is indeed infinitely good, but it will come again tomorrow.
Jie Yaqin – Graduated from Yangzhou University in 2020
In the early morning of Gansu Agricultural University, the sky is blue and the clouds white. It is tranquil and beautiful. The golf course in the early morning is very quiet, and the side path is seated with people who get up early to chew over words in the English-Chinese dictionary.
Gansu Agricultural University is the only university in Gansu to have a golf course. But this is not my cup of tea. Since a game in the freshman year, I have never played again. In the past three years, in addition to studying, I have been a student union cadre and have participated in many club activities, voluntary services, etc. My university life is very fulfilling.
Entering my fourth year at university in the coming year, I should cultivate my mind and focus on revision in order to cope with the software engineering professional examination and prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination.
Chen Hui – Gansu Agricultural University
This is the Tao River in Lintao County, Gansu Province. The Tao River originates in Qinghai Province and is the largest tributary of the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Lintao County is also named after the Tao River.
I am a child in the mountain of Lintao and I saw the Tao River for the first time when I came to the county to study in high school. The surroundings here are beautiful, the air is fresh, and the cultural environment is simple. My family and I often walk by the river after dinner. This place not only is a testimony to my growth, but also nurtures the affection between my family and me. Moreover, it bears the most beautiful scenery in my memory when I am away from home. I am very proud to have been born in this simple and plain land.
Lu Meimei – Wuhan University of Science and Technology
I did not go home this holiday but stay in school to prepare for postgraduate entrance examination.
After the final exam, everyone began to unwind and rest. There is not a single soul in the study room. Instantly, I feel that the postgraduate entrance examination is a personal matter and a lone battle. The ultimate success must depend on the accumulation of hard work day in, day out. As the saying goes- Read broadly and get the essence; heap up and use modestly. The line joining the three points of the dormitory, classroom and bedroom cannot prevent life from lighting up.
Lin Bin – Sichuan Agricultural University, written in August 2020
My family is in Anjing Village, a village of poverty in Fengjie County of Chongqing City. The villagers used to live on farming. In recent years, a lot of land has become barren as young labourers have left to work elsewhere. As the river carries a huge amount of mud every year, we are currently focusing on returning farmland to forestation. This has reduced the accumulation of river sand and eased the annual dredging work of the Three Gorges Dam.
In 2018, the village started a programme to alleviate poverty through industry by planting kiwifruit. In this project, the State provides red kiwifruit seedlings and related planting training. In order to promote planting, the State also provides subsidies. For example, if the planting area reaches 10 mu, the State will provide about 1,000 yuan of subsidy. The necessary pesticide and fertiliser are purchased collectively by government departments, and individual farmers only need to collect them.
The State conducts unified purchases in our village through merchants, and begins to sign purchase contracts at the time the seedlings are planted. When the harvest season comes, they will be purchased for about seven yuan a catty, which is a good price. The expectation on the fruit is quite high.
More than two years have passed and the fruit has grown up and, hopefully, can be harvested soon. If the fruit sells well, the farmers will have a handsome income!
Weng Ling – Sichuan Agricultural University
The fourth year at university seems to have come very suddenly. In recent days, I have been preparing for postgraduate entrance examination. Everyday, life is a two-point line: library – dormitory.
The past few days have been overcast and rainy, which dampens the mood of every postgraduate candidate. Fortunately, the sun comes out today.
It is like our road to postgraduate entrance examination- it may be thorny along the way, but there is a silver lining to every cloud.
Deng Cuihe – Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics