Li Fang is an engineer during the day, but in the evening, she becomes a student at a night school in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. She is trying new hobbies with her 4-year-old daughter, including art and jazz dancing. She used to spend evenings watching her daughter play in the park. Now, she can experience new things together with her daughter at a night school.
A growing number of Chinese people go to night schools. They can get colorful courses from dancing and sports to wine tasting. These courses usually cost hardly anything. They have become popular among young people who want to look for new skills, hobbies and friends.
In the 1980s, many people studied at night schools for middle school courses. However, night schools disappeared because of the popularization of higher education. The latest fashion came to Shanghai last autumn, when more than 650,000 people competed for 10,000 places at the city's night schools.
Night schools have also rapidly appeared in other cities. Miss Wang in Wuhan thinks night schools are good places to make friends. "I used to spend much of my time alone. Since I attended the night school, І have felt more connected with modern society. Besides, chatting to people with similar hobbies is a lot of fun," she said.
Young people strongly wish to improve themselves and make their cultural lives colorful. That has made night schools popular.
