Why+Jishishan+County?

**__ Why Jishishan County? __** > Jishishan County is the only county in all of Gansu province that is classified as a multi-ethnic autonomus county. It is also one of China's poorest counties, including 4 of China's Muslim ethnic groups, the Hui, the Dongxiang, the Baoan and the Salar. 52% of the people in the county are ethnic minorities and 96.5% make their living by farming. The average yearly income for a farmer is 1010元 ($144), which is generally not enough to support large families as often the grandparents will live with their children and rely on their support as they grow older. Often times, members of the family will have to travel and try to find temporary work. Our family has recently had the oppurtunity to visit this county multiple times in the last couple of years and I have chosen to make my project more specific by focusing on Jishishan County.

Below is a map that shows the position of Jishishan County in relation to all of China

__**More Information**__ Jishishan County contains 180 schools of which 3 are complete middle and high schools, 5 middle schools and 137 elementary schools. 48.2% of the students are ethnic minorities. 9% of school age children can not go to school because of economic problems and they are forced to help their parents at home. 30% of the children over 15 have not completed middle school and the illiteracy rate is 8.7%.  
 * __ Scenery __**