In four years, Bao has turned the once dilapidated school into a beautiful one. Students who had quit because of the school's poor condition and notoriously bad teaching, were now returning in large numbers.

"A principal is the soul of a school," Bao said. "Education is not just about imparting knowledge; it is more important for teachers to guide students grow up to conduct themselves well in society."

One mother, Lin Xiaozhen, said,"The changes at the school and the progress my son and daughter were making every day put us very much at ease. We have become more confident that they will have a well-off life and will be useful to the country."

Haikou Middle School affiliated with Beijing Normal University, has a beautiful modern campus. It was founded by the government of Haikou and Beijing Normal University in 2016 and has developed a "problem orientation" teaching model that stresses thorough illustration and explanation of difficult key points of knowledge. The practice is being promoted among schools on the island with welcome results, according to local reports.

"We have come to Hainan to cultivate children who will be able to play leading roles in the future. The development of Hainan depends much on Hainan people. So it is equally important to build up local talent in Hainan and absorb foreign talent," said Wang Hong, who was chosen to head the Haikou school in 2017.

Feng You, a 16-year-old high school student said: "President Wang has made us love math. We have a growing fascination with it. I never imagined that math could be so interesting."

She shared her excitement in her diary after attending a class given by the president, formerly a member of the management of the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University and a senior educator with about 30 years of teaching experience.

"We teachers should be ready to squat down or even cradle those children who come from poor circumstances in arms so that they can receive an education with an easy and happy mood. No student should be ignored or left out," said Wang, the school head.

Wang Haifeng, a senior teacher who quit a key high school in northeastern China to join the Haikou school three years ago, said:"Hainan is a promising land that is thirsty for talent. We feel needed and respected here, and we are working hard to help foster competent students."

The Harrow school in Haikou also intends to help build up educational soft power to enhance the competitiveness of Hainan.

Harrow Haikou, the fourth Harrow school in Asia, is scheduled to start operation in September. It will offer a bilingual, bicultural curriculum, drawing on what's best from Harrow London's and Harrow International School's pedagogy to deliver China's Grade 1 to 9 Compulsory Education. English is used for mathematics, science, computing, creative arts, innovation and physical education, said Michael Farley, Harrow International's director of group operations.

"With access to an unrivaled outdoor environment, we will ensure that Harrow Hainan develops sports such as golf and sailing. It will host camps and competitive events and adventurous activities that are core to Harrow's holistic education.

"Harrow Haikou, which covers 96,673 square meters and provides 1,700 teaching posts from kindergarten to high school, will also take advantage of Hainan's natural environment to establish field training centers in disciplines such as physical geography, botany and ecology,"Farley said.

In 2019, Hainan reached 91 collaboration agreements with both domestic and overseas institutions, with total investment of about 20 billion yuan. Among the international partners are such well-known institutions as Dulwich College, Wycombe Abbey School and Wesleyan College, in addition to Harrow London, according to the provincial educational authorities.

On June 1, the central government released a master plan for Hainan, aiming to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential, high-level free trade port with Chinese characteristics by the middle of the century.

"Open, bold and unique to Hainan, the new master plan will create great opportunities for farsighted international education investors," said Wang Lin, dean of the International Tourism College, a joint venture launched in Haikou by Hainan University and Arizona State University in the United States three years ago.

She said the talent, training platforms and joint ventures established under the master plan will bring strong support to the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, which covers 35,400 square kilometers, 49 times the size of Singapore.

Officials with the provincial government said a serious shortage of talent is still a major bottleneck in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.

Experts said that opening Hainan's education sector to the world will provide new opportunities and platforms for Hainan to explore new approaches and models that blend advanced education practices with local conditions to substantially support a skilled work force to meet the vast needs of Hainan Free Trade Port for various talents.