Young people enrolling in night school to expand horizons(3)

Youth development

As the trend of young people attending night schools sweeps across the country, the issue of how to properly manage these schools and meet the demands of the youth have become a pressing issue for local governments.

Chongqing, a mega city of 32 million people, has about 9 million people aged between 13 and 35. Thanks to its sound economic development, vibrant urban life, affordable living cost, unique landscape and rich history, the city has become a major destination to work and live for young people across China.

In March, the Communist Youth League of China Chongqing Committee released a guideline on setting up and managing night schools, the first in the country.

Chongqing will open an additional 30 night schools across the city this year, focusing on improving skills in entrepreneurship, digital work, manufacturing, the platform economy and modern services, according to the guideline.

It encourages young people to develop interests in modern and traditional art, music, sports, dance, drama, calligraphy, flower arrangement, tea ceremony and yoga.

"Youth night schools are a new way of cultural consumption, which has become popular so quickly because of its low threshold for access, low cost and diversified courses," said Li Hongshen from the youth development department of the Communist Youth League of China Chongqing Committee.

"There is no specific government regulation or guideline to manage this emerging business, so the committee has shouldered the responsibility to aid the development of night schools."

In 2022, 17 ministries and commissions, including the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China jointly released a document titled Opinions on the Pilot Construction of Youth-Development-Friendly Cities.

The opinions put forward in the document extol the urban development philosophy of making cities more friendly to young people and enabling the youth to achieve more in cities.

Jiangbei and Shapingba districts in Chongqing were among the first 45 pilot areas to carry out the plan.