A lone rural teacher in Longhua, a county in Hebei province, has been at the school for 35 years, Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported on Wednesday.

Liu Xuemin, 53, started his career in the mountain village of Caoniangou in 1978 after graduating from senior high school.

During the past 35 years, teachers have come and gone at school but Liu persists in working there. Now, he is the sole teacher for 14 pupils from pre-school to third grade, taking classes in math, language, art and sports.

"Our village is far from the cities and I like to work hard to give our kids a bright future by providing them with more knowledge," Liu said.

During the past 35 years, 39 of the students Liu taught have entered colleges and universities.