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Daan Elementary school, the highest latitude institution in Zhushan, is located at the remote Daan mounty area. It was a Japanese school prior to World War II. It became Daan elementary school after Japan retreated from Taiwan. The school provides education opportunities for children and elders in the village and reduces the impact of lack of transportation means in mid 20th century at remote locations of Taiwan.
In recent years, residents have dramatically reduced. The overall student counts went from 280+ in 1980’s to 10+ in 2003. The faculty members are reduced to seven in total. The authority once considered closing down the school. However the local residents fought for the educational rights of children in the neighbourhood.
The school slowly transformed into so-called forest school and provides students free courses on art of tea ceremony, pottery art, chess and natural habitat. Students get to expand their horizons and understand the environment they live in better.
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