The youngest deputy to the National People's Congress from Yunnan province is passionate about improving rural schools, but the girl who used to feign illness to avoid the 6-km walk to the classroom has found her new role a steep learning curve. Hu Yongqi reports.

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Tie Feiyan carries herself with a confidence far beyond her 22 years. She appears more mature than her peers, having spent the past year as one of China's top legislators.

Her hometown of Zhaotong in Yunnan province is home to 498,000 left-behind children. Their parents have left to seek their fortune in the cities on the east coast of the country.

Tie was reluctant to go to school when she was a child, as it meant a 6-kilometer walk from her home to the school each way. During the rainy season, the sticky mud would make the long journey even more arduous.