Night schools help Chinese youth pursue self-improvement

China's youth are embracing a new way of enjoying the nightlife - attending "night schools," a concept that used to carry a sense of nostalgia in the country, to acquire new skills.

Cultural venues like cultural centers and art galleries that provide night classes across the country are promoting an expansion of capacity to offer opportunities for young people to enhance their self-improvement after working during the day.

Cost-effectiveness and quality services are important factors behind the popularity of night schools for young people.

For instance, the tuition fee at the Shanghai Citizen Night School for Arts in Shanghai is 500 yuan ($70) for 12 classes. In Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, several cultural venues offer night school programs, where young people can attend a high-quality class at the price of a cup of coffee. Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, introduced night schools for young people in November 2023, with some free courses being well received by the young generation.

① : People attend a dance class at a night school in Yibin, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Wang Yu)

② : A student makes a Chinese cloisonne painting at the night school of the Guangzhou Youth Palace in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo courtesy of the Guangzhou Youth Palace)

③ : Students practice calligraphy at the night arts school of the cultural center in Anci district, Langfang city, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo/Jia Jun)

④ : Students practice the guzheng, or Chinese zither, at the night arts school of the cultural center in Anci district, Langfang city, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo/Jia Jun)

⑤: A teacher instructs students on vocal music at a night school in Yibin, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Lan Feng)

In recent years, thanks to the introduction of documents like a plan for the building of a public cultural service system during the 14th five-year plan from 2021-2025, high-quality educational resources, represented by night schools, have been rapidly channeled towards the community level, and more public cultural resources have been brought into ordinary people's lives.

As night fell, Zhang Luoshan, a worker at a pharmacy, started to practice the guzheng, or Chinese zither, at the cultural center in Anci district, Langfang city, north China's Hebei Province. When the district launched its first night arts course program at the night arts school of the cultural center in June 2023, Zhang immediately signed up for guzheng courses.

"I've loved guzheng since my childhood, but had never had the chance to learn it. Now, our district is offering free guzheng classes at the night school, making up for my regret of not being able to learn the guzheng in the past," Zhang said.

Today, night schools provide a wide variety of innovative and diverse courses, such as intangible cultural heritages, short video editing, traditional tea ceremonies, and pour-over coffee, reflecting their efforts to develop new models appealing to young people.

To determine the courses to offer, the night school of the Guangzhou Youth Palace in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province used online questionnaires for youths aged 18 and above to gather insights into their interests. The night school then determined its functions to help young people shape their interests and hobbies, and promote social interaction.

Ou Xiaoyuan, deputy director of the Guangzhou Youth Palace, said classes at the night school are usually scheduled on Fridays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. according to results based on the questionnaires.

Liu Haibin, an official at the bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism of Anci district, said the district launched the night art school to provide classes for individuals aged 18 to 55 to better meet the people's needs.

Liu Li, director of the art popularization department of the Chengdu Cultural Center in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, said the center has offered night training courses since the implementation of the law on ensuring public cultural services in 2017. Four years later, it introduced classes for individuals aged 20 to 45.

The cultural center also offered themed classes with shorter durations to cater to the interests of the general public, according to Liu Li.

"For example, during the spring and summer seasons, our center provides courses related to the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival during which people pay tribute to deceased relatives. We also offer a special class on Chinese New Year culture during winter," Liu Li said.

Liu Li added that the culture and arts training school of the Chengdu Cultural Center began to offer online registration for its night courses not long ago, with the available registration spots for 27 courses being quickly filled as soon as the channel opened.

"Public cultural spaces, represented by night schools for young people, serve as a platform. To allow more people to actively participate in high-quality cultural activities and promote the popularization of arts for all, efforts should be made to make cultural services more targeted and effective," said Dong Ziming, an associate professor at the School of Public Administration at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

By improving their conditions, both in hardware facilities and the softer aspects, many night schools have offered higher-quality and richer cultural services.

To ensure the quality of night school courses, the Guangzhou Youth Palace has invited a group of industry experts to serve as mentors at the night school for young people, and provide professional guidance to the courses on an ongoing basis.

Liu Li said the Chengdu Cultural Center will make further adjustments in aspects like course selectivity and class times, and offer more diverse course time slots so that high-quality public cultural services can benefit more people.

Many night schools have expanded their capacity to better meet the people's needs. The Shanghai Citizen Night School for the Arts now has 143 teaching centers in 16 districts of Shanghai. At least one night school for young people has been piloted in each of the 21 cities in Guangdong, and 12 districts in Wuhan offer night school courses to young people.