On International Women's Day, let's pay tribute to some female role models.

Zhang Guimei, 64
founder and president of the Huaping High School for Girls in Huaping county in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province

Born in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province in 1957, Zhang traveled to Yunnan at the age of 17 and has been helping girls from impoverished areas pursue education for over 40 years.

She helped establish the country's first senior high school to offer free education for girls from poor families. Since it opened in 2008, it has seen more than 1,800 students progress to universities and colleges.