'Spiritual' teacher, 'boatwoman' keeps her students afloat

Rowing boats for her students was the most memorable thing of her 38 years of teaching, said Wang Jinhua, a mountain schoolteacher on western Hainan island.

Bamboo rafts, sailing junks and iron boats, the standard waterway tools for a boatman, are lasting images of Wang's golden years, with hundreds of students at the remote mountain location called Fanda Primary School.

"We almost lost our lives when eight students and me fell into the water one day in 1982 when a strong wave hit our raft," said Wang, who has taught for 38 years. She hurt her waist while saving her students, and the injury has left lasting pain.