Recently, the Xinfeng County Tieshikou Middle School in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province was exposed for having poor student dormitory conditions, with rusty iron beds and decrepit bed frames and doors, sparking attention on the internet.
On June 16, a netizen from Jiangxi posted a video on social media revealing that the dormitory at Tieshikou Middle School in Xinfeng County had rusty iron beds and some bed frames were in a state of disrepair. The corridors were dirty, with a strong odor of urine, no fans on the fourth floor, and the doors were tattered, likely allowing mosquitoes in during sleep.
The viral video showed rusty railings along the corridors, a dormitory with 6 bed frames, rusted iron bed rails, peeling wall paint, and several holes in the wooden doors.
According to reports from “Daxiang News,” a local resident who had graduated from the school many years ago told reporters that the dormitories at the school had been in this condition over a decade ago, with “the beds and doors possibly never being changed.”
The video quickly attracted online attention.
A video blogger named “Mint Chocolate Taro Cake” commented, “The conditions are really poor, not expecting luxury, but at least cleanliness should be a basic requirement. Seeing the yellowing wall paint and rusty beds, I feel like sleeping on the upper bunk will just collapse. Poor conditions and hygiene, with a strong urine smell in the corridors…”
Legal blogger and Weibo influencer “Zhang Sanxue” mentioned, “Tieshikou Middle School is located in Tieshikou Town, Xinfeng County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi. The school is not small, with 485 students in just the first year alone, and about 1500 students in total.”
“The town of Tieshikou is only 25 kilometers away from Xinfeng County, a 30-minute drive along a relatively straight road built alongside the railway. Xinfeng County had a high-speed rail connection in 2022, with a train station already existing. The location is convenient, close to Shaoguan in northern Guangdong, and it takes just 2 hours by high-speed rail from Xinfeng to Guangzhou.”
“In 2025, with a considerable student population and a relatively accessible location, encountering such poor dormitory conditions definitely indicates local issues.”
A teacher and Weibo influencer known as “Weekend Teacher’s Daily Life” questioned, “If not exposed, would there be any actions taken to handle and improve this situation? What is the Education Bureau doing on a regular basis? Have they fulfilled their duties? The original video has been deleted, why is that? Will the children be treated differently?”
Under public pressure, the Xinfeng County Education and Sports Bureau announced on June 17 that an investigation team has been formed.
The announcement stated that there were instances of inadequate management services, failure to timely replace worn-out facilities, and poor environmental hygiene in the dormitories at the school. The new construction and renovation project for teacher and student dormitories initiated by the school in December of last year will be completed as scheduled this summer and put into use before the start of the fall semester.
Additionally, according to a reporter from “Nandu,” in February of this year, Tieshikou Middle School in Xinfeng County issued a living-at-school proposal to its students.
The proposal aimed at the seventh to ninth-grade students who lived with relatives, rented houses off-campus, or resided far from the school (more than 2 kilometers away in a straight line), encouraging them to choose to live at school for a more enriching, efficient, and safe campus life. The school assured that it would provide support for students living on campus and listed the benefits of residing at the school.