[Video by Li Yang and Xie Mingming/for chinadaily. com.cn]

Students at Dashui primary school in Xinjian town, Fenggang county, Zunyi city, Guizhou province, set up a rock band to realize their musical dreams, thanks to China's "double reduction" policies to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring on students.

On Nov 9, students and teachers of the school enjoyed the band's performance at the playground, which reverberated with the rhythm of the songs as well as drumbeats and bass.

The band, which was set up in October, is composed of seven students from different grades, with three guitarists, a drummer, a keyboardist, a bass player and a vocalist.

"Their talent and musical dreams are likely to give them wings that could propel them to fly away from the mountains," said Fan Biao, an instructor for the students, who graduated in 2019 and applied to serve as a teacher for three years in a special posting at Dashui primary school.

"Last semester, the average score of our school ranked first in the final exam of the primary school group in the county. The facts have shown that students were more motivated after carrying out the 'double reduction' policies," said Fan.

Wang Jin contributed to this story.