Documentary backdrop image for A Student Village (1999)

Documentary backdrop image for A Student Village (1999)

1999100 minGdocumentary

A Student Village

1999100 minGdocumentary

Children between 6 and 14 live year-round in a remote village in the Hengduan Mountain Range of western Yunnan, China, to complete their primary education.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Children between 6 and 14 live year-round in a remote village in the Hengduan Mountain Range of western Yunnan, China, to complete their primary education.

People

Wei Xingdirector

Synopsis

In the Hengduan Mountain Range of western Yunnan, China, a village inhabited solely by children aged 6 to 14 exists. These children live there year-round to complete their six-year primary education. Director Wei Xing captures their daily lives and optimism in "A Student Village." After the film's completion in 1999, Wei returned to the village for a screening, drawing villagers from miles away to celebrate together. The documentary received positive feedback after its television broadcast.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2 (2026)

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

In Yunnan Province's Nu Jiang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, children Yu Qiang and Abduwale navigate challenging terrains to attend school.

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school (2020)

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school

In the Hengduan Mountains of Sichuan Province, the Yi people of Gulu face perilous hikes to access education and essential resources at high elevations.

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas (2024)

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas

Pema, the only son, struggles with family expectations in the world's most remote village.

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas

Wilderness Roads: China (2024)

Wilderness Roads: China

Wang Fang plans to build a 5-kilometer road through the Guanche mountains to connect his isolated village in Guangxi province, China.

Wilderness Roads: China

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds (2022)

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds

48 million people live in Yunnan, a province in China known for its 25 distinct ethnic groups and rich cultural traditions.

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds

Unloved and Forgotten - China's Children of Shame (2024)

Unloved and Forgotten - China's Children of Shame

Miao Miao and others face challenges as Hidden Homeless Kids in China's Sun Villages.

Unloved and Forgotten - China's Children of Shame

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang (2023)

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang

Yunnan covers an area larger than Germany and is home to 48 million people, including 25 distinct ethnicities with unique cultural practices.

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls (2025)

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls

In Fujian Province, China, the Hakka people maintain their cultural heritage and community life within the fortress-like tulous, built for protection against invasions.

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls

A Year in Tibet: Life and Survival in an Ultra Remote Town (2024)

A Year in Tibet: Life and Survival in an Ultra Remote Town

8,000 people live in the small town of Gansa, where traditional Tibetan life coexists with the influence of Chinese governance.

A Year in Tibet: Life and Survival in an Ultra Remote Town

Most Dangerous Ways To School (2025)

Most Dangerous Ways To School

Children in the Himalayas travel across a frozen river for up to eight days to reach school, facing extreme cold and dangerous conditions.

Most Dangerous Ways To School

Explore A Student Village

Browse more like this

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2 (2026)

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

In Yunnan Province's Nu Jiang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, children Yu Qiang and Abduwale navigate challenging terrains to attend school.

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

No digital watch option in your country

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school (2020)

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school

In the Hengduan Mountains of Sichuan Province, the Yi people of Gulu face perilous hikes to access education and essential resources at high elevations.

They risk their lives in the Himalayas - One of the world's most dangerous ways to school

No digital watch option in your country

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas (2024)

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas

Pema, the only son, struggles with family expectations in the world's most remote village.

World's Most Remote Village: Growing Up in the Himalayas

No digital watch option in your country

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds (2022)

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds

48 million people live in Yunnan, a province in China known for its 25 distinct ethnic groups and rich cultural traditions.

China's Secret Lands: Yunnan - Land of Colorful Clouds

No digital watch option in your country

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang (2023)

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang

Yunnan covers an area larger than Germany and is home to 48 million people, including 25 distinct ethnicities with unique cultural practices.

China's Hidden Worlds: Unveiling the Secrets of Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang

No digital watch option in your country

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls (2025)

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls

In Fujian Province, China, the Hakka people maintain their cultural heritage and community life within the fortress-like tulous, built for protection against invasions.

Village in a Castle: Life Behind Fortress Walls

No digital watch option in your country

Ghost Town (2010)

Ghost Town

2010•2h49m•★10.0TMDB

Three narratives unfold in Zhiziluo, Yunnan Province, where a twelve-year-old boy scavenges for food after being abandoned by his family.

Youth (Spring) (2023)

Youth (Spring)

2023•3h32m•★6.9TMDB

Over 300,000 migrant workers from various rural provinces produce children's clothing in Zhili, a district in Huzhou City, Zhejiang province, China.

Others Before Self (2021)

Others Before Self

Fifty-four minutes capture the lives of child refugees at Tibetan Children's Village as they maintain their culture after China's occupation of Tibet.

Others Before Self

Kindergarten (2004)

Kindergarten

2004•1h11m•★7.7TMDB

Shot over 14 months, 71 minutes of footage captures the daily lives of children at a boarding kindergarten in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

Alone (2013)

Alone

2013•1h29m•★6.3TMDB

Three sisters, aged 10, 6, and 4, live alone in the remote mountains of Yunnan, struggling to survive in extreme poverty.

Yun Jie (2021)

Yun Jie

2021•1h43m•★7.0TMDB

A 12-year-old boy in a remote Chinese village manages heavy household responsibilities while striving to excel academically despite feelings of abandonment.

He Film (2011)

He Film

2011•1h15m•★5.7TMDB

2,000 kilometers of film travel from Beijing to Chengdu via satellite, reaching remote villages in the bamboo-covered mountains of Sichuan.

When A Child Is Dreaming (2021)

When A Child Is Dreaming

A six-year-old child in Kunming City plays in the street daily, neglected by his parents and not yet enrolled in school.

When A Child Is Dreaming

The Road (2010)

The Road

Twenty-two students attend a private village school in Hunan Province, where their experiences as "left-behind children" are examined through interviews.

Enclave (2015)

Enclave

A village electrified in 2012 now has children receiving education from local volunteers and a substitute teacher who feels disillusioned with the government.

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →