XI'AN, Dec. 8-- In the winter drizzle, a white control line model plane climbs, dives and turns. The flyer, Huang Jinquan, 11, has just won his first national title in August with a dazzling aerobatic performance. Not keen to talk, the introverted champion prefers to show his passion with the two lines in his hands. Jinquan is a student of Redian Primary School in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, northwest China. More than 70 percent of the students at this school come from rural areas and have been taken to cities by their parents, who are migrant workers striving for a better life. Many, like Huang, lack a companion as their parents are usually busy with work, and model planes are too expensive for them. Headmaster Han Baoan had a chance to receive flying training in 1983 when he first came to work in Redian. Since then he has been trying his best to help his students fly. "We may not have enough money, but nothing can deprive us of passion for the sport," he says. The school managed to establish a model airplane club in 2017. The sport became more popular among Redian students when it was included in the program of the 2017 Chinese National Games. Now the club has 20 members and has won the national championships in two years in a row. "Model planes are expensive. Many beginners in the more developed coastal provinces can afford serious competition models. They can buy new ones when they crash the models," says Han. "We don't have enough funding. Neither can we charge our students in the club. All we can do is to train harder than other teams." |