Elementary school children trek more than two hours everyday, including through a 400-meter long cave, to get to school in a mountainous area of Guizhou province. Liu Jinhong reports .

The road to enlightenment, they say, is not easy. And no one understands this better than the children of Dazhao village in Guizhou province, who have to pass through a 400-meter-long mountain cave to reach their school, holding corn-stem torches.

I went to the village last December with some volunteers, to donate books to the students and visit five children who were once under the care of a charity project I worked for.

We prepared for a long trek through mountain roads. The head teacher of Dazhao Elementary School had already told us to be prepared for a two-hour trek, but it turned out to be 30 minutes longer.

This was a journey the students took every day.

We had heard about the cave from the locals, and even thought it looked beautiful from afar, but it was only when we stood in front of it did we feel its chilling presence.

It dwarfed the children, who looked like a colony of ants making their way through it, but we were soon to be amazed by their courage and optimism.

To make torches, the children would pick up some dry corn stems, smash them with stones and light them. But some did not even need them, so used had they become to walking in the dark. They actually amused themselves playing hide-and-seek in the cave.

The first thing I saw as I entered the cave was a spacious hall, like a basketball court. What followed was a narrow tunnel, then a steep slope, and a labyrinth-like complex.

The slope was so narrow and cold that I almost fell off it. The low roof had us all crouching and we had had to be led by the children. We used our cell phones to light the path ahead. The children tried to scare one another, making faces and laughing heartily.

Their carefree mirth did much to ease our anxiety in that long cave.

A typical school day for Luo Qiong, 12, and her 8-year-old brother begins at 5 am. They need to collect dry corn stems before they leave for school.

Their school is the only one servicing four counties spread over 5 sq km. In an area where the annual per capita income is less than 1,000 yuan ($146), the school is the best-constructed building.

Most of the school's 230 students get up as early as Luo. They arrive at school after a one- or two-hour walk. After school ends at 3 pm, they hike back through the mountains. It is usually dark when they reach home. The oldest of the students is 17, the youngest, 5.

When asked if they felt afraid while passing through the cave, they said, simply: "Yes, we do, but at the other end is the school."

But the cave was not the only thing posing a physical challenge to these children. We followed them as they climbed one mountain after another.

On the easier stretches, they took a little rest, wiped sweat off their brows on their shirt sleeves and played a little game, before walking on.

I could feel the stones of the road through the thick soles of my shoes. My feet hurt like hell, but the children seemed unfazed. They had already become used to the trek.

The thing I wanted most to hear at that time was "here we are", but no one said it. I could only turn to my cell phone again and again to see how much time we had spent.

When we finally heard a dog growling in the distance, I knew we had arrived. No dog snarl had ever sounded so welcome to my ears.

My visit to the school coincided with a series of efforts to improve things after a newspaper carried a story about these children.

A middle school in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, a TV station and a local business have donated some electric torches to the children. Now, every student has two torches. The provincial authorities are planning to build a school canteen and also add two more teachers to the school, which has only five. But since the students are spread across four counties and most live deep in the mountains, a bus to take them to school is still not feasible.

We intend to return to Dazhao village and check on the children. But this time, we will carry some food to share with them as we walk them to school.