Heyang county in Shaanxi province, Northwest China, has greatly benefited from the establishment of a county with a balanced development of compulsory education in China since 2014. It has adhered to the strategy of prioritizing education development and has solidly promoted the high-quality development of education. 


Students in a Heyang County primary school engage in lessons within brightly lit classrooms. 

According to Jin Zenglong, the secretary of the Party Committee and director of the Education Bureau of Heyang County, the entire education ecosystem in Heyang is exemplary, and the public satisfaction with education is notably high.

“In Heyang, education has always been a beautiful urban business card. Currently, Heyang has successfully passed provincial supervision and evaluation to establish itself as a high-quality county for national compulsory education and is now poised for national inspection,” Jin stated.

Heyang boasts two prominent high schools: Heyang Middle School and Second Senior High School. Founded in 1916, Heyang Middle School holds the distinction of being the earliest county high school in Shaanxi Province. With a century-old prestigious history,it bears a glorious revolutionary tradition and profound cultural heritage.

Second Senior High School, established in 2018, stands as one of the top ten livelihood projects in Heyang County. It represents a high standard, high starting point, high-quality, and high-grade full-time ordinary senior high school, built by the county Party committee and government to accommodate the pace of urbanization and provide satisfactory education for the people. It was optimized and integrated with the original rural high schools of Lujing Middle School and Heichi Middle School in Heyang County.

Over the years, both two high schools have developed in a differentiated and beneficial manner. Heyang Middle School, with its century-old legacy, enjoys a province-wide reputation. Meanwhile, Heichi Middle School and Lujing Middle School have also had their periods of glory.

Between 2021 and 2023, five students from Heyang were admitted to Tsinghua University and Peking University, earning widespread praise from various sectors of society, according to the county education director.

The county places great emphasis on the construction of compulsory education. There are 57 compulsory schools in the county, comprising 9 junior high schools, 2 nine-year schools, 36 primary schools, 9 teaching points, and 1 special education school. Currently, the compulsory section enrolls 33,612 students, including 10,231 in junior high school and 23,381 in primary school. There are 2,344 full-time teachers, with 1,476 in primary school and 868 in junior high school.

Duan Yan, an English teacher at Tianheyuan Primary School in the county, mentioned that every year, teachers are assigned by the county to participate in the training of renowned teaching methods. 

“Over the past two years, we have continuously learned, innovated in the classroom, and enhanced students' comprehensive literacy through curriculum reform,” the teacher stated.

Yan Chengzhi, a third year student from Ganjing Town Middle School in the county, shares a passion for English and basketball. Once introverted, he has undergone significant changes through participation in club activities. Consistently ranking first in English exams, he aspires to be admitted to Heyang Middle School.

Jin Zenglong reiterated the county’s commitment to accelerating the high-quality development of county-level education, starting from kindergartens. The aim is to establish an educational ecosystem fostering healthy development from early childhood to high school, thereby enhancing the core competitiveness of education.

Moreover, Jin emphasized the need to reform the existing education evaluation system, focusing on the comprehensive quality and abilities of students, while avoiding an excessive pursuit of scores and prestigious schools.

The accompanying images depict the county’s active promotion of student participation in various clubs and extracurricular activities, highlighting its dedication to developing quality education.