A primary school in rural China with more than 1,000 teachers and students has achieved food self-sufficiency by offering farming for students.

Equipped with 60 hectares of farmland where students can participate in manual labor, Jingwai Mingde Primary School in Xuanwei, Yunnan Province, has fed itself for 15 years.

(Photo: People's Daily/Zeng Zhihui)

Each class is allocated a piece of land to plant seasonal vegetables or raise livestock, which will become ingredients for their daily meals. Students do farm chores twice a week under the guidance of the teachers.

(Photo: People's Daily/Zeng Zhihui)

The school set up a greenhouse with fruit trees and medicinal herbs for students to learn about botanical knowledge in nature, instead of listening to teachers in the classroom.

There is also a zoo in the school keeping sika deer, ostriches and other animals to help students expand their horizons and get along with animals.

(Photo: People's Daily/Zeng Zhihui)

"Children who have not kissed the land will not have a complete childhood," said school principal Lei Yingfei. "The farm labor will build excellent characters that last a lifetime."

(Compiled by Xie Runjia)