Night schools allow young adults to enrich life after work

Young adults in China are embracing a new way of enjoying nightlife - attending night schools.

These night schools provide a wide variety of courses, such as dance, vocal music, traditional handicrafts, beauty and fitness, wine tasting and other skills. The courses are taught by experienced instructors and offered at affordable prices.

At 10 a.m. on Nov. 22, the culture and art training school of the Chengdu Cultural Center in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, began online registration for its winter special courses. One of the 27 offline courses offered was a special class on Chinese New Year culture. This class encompassed various elements, including New Year paintings, paper cutting, flower arrangement, and spring couplets.

The available registration spots were filled soon after the channel opened.

People attend a calligraphy class at a night school in Jiangbei district, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Nov. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Chao)

According to Liu Li, director of the school's art popularization department, the school decided to modify the age range for the DIY doll-making class using old clothes. Originally intended for elderly students, the class is now open to individuals aged 20 to 45.

Liu pointed out that the lack of interest from the elderly in the challenging course led to the adjustment, which then attracted young participants.

Recently, Liu and her colleagues have been busy preparing courses for the winter season. They have also been seeking guidance from the Shanghai Mass Art Center to learn from its experience in operating a night school project that has benefited local citizens.

Since its launch in 2016, the night school project in Shanghai has become popular among young adults. In the autumn semester of this year, the project offered 382 courses with 10,000 available spots. This led to more than 650,000 online applicants vying for enrolment. Twelve courses were fully booked within one minute.

Data from a specific platform reveals that the search volume for "night school" has increased 980 percent year on year since this year. Topics related to "night school" have been trending on various social media platforms, showing twice the popularity compared to previous years.

"The night school project, which initially provided traditional teaching content, has now expanded its offerings to include lifestyle and fashion courses. The project collaborated with the Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation to provide sign language classes for the first time in the autumn semester this year," said Wu Penghong, director of the Shanghai Mass Art Center.

According to Wu, the popularity of the night school project among young adults can be attributed to its innovative courses and affordability. Over the past seven years, the tuition fee at the night schools has remained at 500 yuan (about $70.03) for 12 classes, making it difficult for students to resist.

The night school project in Shanghai boasts a team of highly esteemed instructors who are renowned artists or craftsmen in their respective fields.

"More and more organizations are willing to collaborate with the project. This partnership allows for the provision of high-quality educational resources while enabling instructors to expand their influence through teaching," said Wu.

The culture and art training school of the Chengdu Cultural Center was established in 2012. It has 21 branch schools and 216 cultural and art training centers in the city. In 2022, over 6,769 public training classes were organized in the city, benefiting more than 300,000 people. Among these, 2,916 classes catered specifically to young adults aged 20 to 45, attracting over 80,000 participants.

In 2021, the Chengdu Cultural Center introduced classes for individuals aged 20 to 45. It also offered themed classes with shorter durations to cater to the interests of the general public.

For example, during the spring and summer seasons, the schools provided courses related to the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people pay tribute to deceased relatives.

Zhang Huajun, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University, said that night schools respond to young people's spiritual needs for self-improvement, personal growth, and the pursuit of their dreams.

According to Zhang, night schools' "non-academic" nature fosters a "non-utilitarian" approach, enabling students to release the anxiety linked to conventional academic performances and embrace the joy of learning. It creates a pressure-free environment, free from the burdens of competition and an achievement-driven culture, offering young individuals opportunities for self-adjustment, healing, reconciliation, breakthroughs, and personal growth.

The night school located in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province offers a wide range of courses for individuals aged 18 to 45. These courses are offered at a reasonable price, and classes are usually held on Fridays from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

To determine the courses to offer, the night school initially used questionnaires to gather insights into the interests of young people. Additionally, it closely monitored popular social media platforms among these people to gather information on their preferences.

Ou Xiaoyuan, deputy director of the Guangzhou Youth Palace, an organizer of the night school, stated that this data played a crucial role in designing the courses offered by the night school.

Li Liguo, a professor at Renmin University of China, said that the increasing popularity of night schools in Chinese cities signifies the tangible progress in improving the accessibility and practicality of public services throughout the country.