Chen helps students take a bath in Hefei, East China's Anhui province, on Aug 31, 2011. [Photo/VCG]

On a sunny February day in Chenji township of Hefei, when the bell rings, students file out of classrooms to the playground, one running after another, enjoying every bit of the warmth that the early spring has offered.

Behind the laughter and clamor, however, the village surrounding the school seems quiet, since many young people left to work in cities. Chenji township, located on the north side of Hefei, is one of the poorest areas in the region. Eighty percent of the children in town are left-behind children.

The Sunshine Primary School, set up by Chen Wanxia in 2006, works with 130 children who are left behind by their migrant parents. Ninety choose to board at the school, going back home twice a week.

"We are teachers while holding a textbook, and we become ‘mothers' when putting it down," Chen said. The teaching staff includes college graduates as well as experienced teachers from other voluntary schools.

"The school is the children's home, so teachers are sort of like their moms," Chen said.