Ma, teachers tackle rural challenges

Jack Ma, the billionaire executive chairman of Alibaba Group, is turning his words of "becoming an advocate for all rural teachers around the world" into actions.

Ma joined a group of rural teachers on Wednesday in a primary school in Anshun, Guizhou province, where a seminar was held for rural teachers to exchange ideas and discuss the challenges in rural education.

Ma, who was an English teacher for six years before building his e-commerce empire, told the group of 60 rural teachers that they are doing the greatest thing in the country, as "the breakthrough of education in China lies in rural areas".