On Sept 1, 57-year-old Li Xianggang and his two students started the new semester at Changxi Primary School in Youyang Tujia and Miao autonomous county of Chongqing.

The old school, located in Qianfeng village of Houping township in Youyang, lies on a mountain ridge with cliffs on three sides besides the Wujiang River in the junction of Chongqing municipality and Guizhou province.

It is the only primary school in the remote village, with poor land and inconvenient transportation, and Li is the only teacher.

In 2006, Li came back to his hometown, after working in big cities, and served as a teacher for the kids in the village at the school. His salary is much lower than what he earned in the cities.

As the only teacher, Li adopts a flexible teaching mode — teaching all classes including Chinese language, math, science, physical education and arts for preschool to Grade 2 students.

This semester, there are only two — a boy in Grade 1 and a girl in preschool. They attend classes together.

Besides teaching, Li needs to take care of the students' lives.

At noon, Li becomes a chef and cooks lunch. Once, he carried an ill student on his back and sent him home for half-an-hour's walk down the mountain path.

Li has witnessed the number of students decrease over the years, from over 30 students in 2006 to just two this year. He explained some local villagers have migrated to nearby cities and towns for better jobs and living conditions.

Li decides he would stick to his post as long as he could. "If I quit, the little kids may have no choice but to go boarding at another school, which is quite far by walk," he said.

In the past 15 years, he has taught more than 100 students.