The widely reported economic divide between the richer eastern provinces and the poorer western provinces in China has an exact parallel in the development of basic education. As a result of geographical, historical and social factors the quality and management of the education system lags considerably behind the east coast. A pioneering project in Gansu Province is used as a case study in this paper to examine what factors are essential to the reform of basic education in poor rural parts of China. It is argued that: rural education reform needs to be addressed on multiple levels at the same time; that attention to participation, equity and processes of change are as essential as technical reforms; and that external support is a necessary factor in unfreezing outdated practices, stimulating change and creating new models of practice. It is argued that in the current context of massively increased funding to basic education from central government that these lessons of successful reform are even more pertinent. (Contains 1 figure.)