BEIJING, -- China named 24 teachers and a group of Baoding University graduates, who volunteered to teach in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as the nation's "Most Beautiful Teachers" for 2025, marking China's 41st celebration of Teachers' Day on Wednesday.

The honorees have been recognized as exemplary members of China's 18.85 million-strong teaching force, the backbone of the world's largest education system.

The honored include special education teachers who developed diverse learning resources for students with special needs, those who have long served schools in central and western China and rural communities, and teachers who have made enduring contributions to national strategic initiatives and scientific research.

For more than three decades, Ding Meizhen from Shanghai in East China has led a team dedicated to improving learning for students with special needs -- developing 38 regionally shared courses, hundreds of teaching aids and an intelligent platform to identify the needs of students with disabilities who remain in mainstream classes.

In 2000, 15 graduates from Baoding University in North China's Hebei province chose to teach in Xinjiang, thousands of kilometers from home, turning down job offers and opportunities for further study. Despite challenging conditions, they never backed down, dedicating themselves to advancing education in this northwestern region.