Li Siyu, 8, and his 6-year-old sister Li Qingyi, previously lived at Hetou village of Dafang county, Guizhou province. Their family used to be classified as members of a poverty-stricken household.

The parents of the two siblings are migrant workers, so Li Changde, the 68-year-old grandfather, had to take care of the children and take them to and from school every day. The distance from their home to the school in the village was about 4 kilometers. The children and their grandfather had to cross a hill on their way to the school, which took nearly an hour on foot.