A number of Chinese novelists have become members of the voluntary lecturers group of China Project Hope (CPH).

CPH is a national program launched by the China Youth Development Foundation to assist elementary school students from poor families in the countryside.

The new lecturers include such well-known writers as Wang Meng, Lu Wenfu, Yuan Ying, Yu Qiuyu and Wang Anyi.

On Wednesday, Wang Meng gave a lecture titled "Literature and Us" to a group of teachers of Hope schools from Shanghai.

Meanwhile, "Wenhuibao", a local newspaper, and the CPH's office in charge of training teachers announced that they have set up a special fund for the training.

Since 1989, CPH has set up over 8,000 Hope elementary schools and helped over 300,000 school-leavers in rural areas.

Last year, CPH shifted its focus towards training Hope school teachers. So far, over 3,000 of the teachers have been trained.