Children reading at the "pomegranate seeds" library in Diehu Lake scenic area, Gongliu county.

A bright new addition has appeared on the campus of Gongliu Jiyang High School, Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, with the "pomegranate seeds" library officially opening last August.

Backed by an investment of 3 million yuan ($446,244) and spanning approximately 1,000 square meters, the facility is the 104th "pomegranate seeds" library in Gongliu county and the first model campus library established by the Zhangjiagang paired assistance team from Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

A 12th-grade Kazak student flipped through the pages of a book, her face lighting up with surprise. "There are so many books I've never seen before, and the reading environment is so spacious."

The library's architectural design seamlessly blends the floral window motifs of Jiangnan classical gardens with red pomegranate seed elements. A concentric-circle layout connects the reading area, salon, tiered seating, digital reading room and corridor exhibition space. Emblazoned on the door is the inscription: "All ethnic groups should stick together like pomegranate seeds."

According to Wang Dandan, director of the Gongliu county library, Zhangjiagang supported the first "pomegranate seeds" library in 2020, followed by a 24-hour self-service branch in 2021. "As of now, the county has 104 such libraries," she said, noting that the Gongliu Jiyang High School branch is "the most recently completed".

The library offers a vivid example of how cultural support is enriching local life in Xinjiang. Gongliu Jiyang High School officially opened in 2024. Covering 6.17 hectares, the campus represents a total investment of 100 million yuan, including 70 million yuan from the paired assistance fund. It can accommodate 40 classes and 2,000 students.

"Our school is newly built, so we started almost from zero in management, teaching and every other aspect," said Ma Ronghua, Party branch secretary of the school. "Taking into account the realities of local education in Gongliu county, the Xinjiang aid management team has integrated Zhangjiagang's advanced school-management philosophy into Gongliu Jiyang High School's educational work."

In September 2024, Zhangjiagang brought in four education experts to serve as the school's principal and vice-principals. Six aid teachers from Zhangjiagang also took charge of subject research groups for Chinese, mathematics, English and chemistry. In April 2025, eight more aid teachers arrived and partnered with young local teachers as mentors, launching a mentorship initiative for young educators.

Ma Li, chairperson of Gongliu Jiyang High School's trade union, is a senior politics teacher participating as a mentee in the assistance program who has taught the subject for 13 years. Speaking about the politics teachers from the aid team who served as her mentors, she said, "We suddenly had two aid teachers specializing in politics, as well as two aid principals with backgrounds in the subject. It truly moved me. I still get goose bumps just talking about it — these are my genuine feelings."

"These teachers act just like mentors, guiding us step by step through teaching, lesson preparation and instructional design," she added. "It is the aid teachers who have been leading us in developing a thorough understanding of the textbooks and teaching our students based on them. That was something we lacked in the past."

According to Ma Ronghua, 95.95 percent of students qualified for undergraduate admission in 2025, with 39.59 percent reaching tier-1. In 2026, the number of students scoring above 500 jumped from 4 to 44 — an 11-fold increase year-on-year — while the undergraduate qualification rate climbed to 98.5 percent. The tier-1 cutoff score rose by 46 points. Among the 185 students who cleared the tier-1 cutoff, 17 were admitted to Project 985 universities, 76 to Project 211 universities and 18 to institutions included in the Double First-Class initiative.

The paired assistance project also installed nine water dispensers to provide clean drinking water. "Put into use in 2025, they reflect the meticulous care our paired assistance officials devote to education," Ma Ronghua noted. "The school's development and achievements over the past year would not have been possible without the care shown by all sectors of Zhangjiagang society and the support of the paired assistance team."