A city’s kindness and friendliness toward children reflect its nurturing spirit.

From dedicated bus routes tailored for primary and middle school students to the increasing presence of child-friendly projects in public space design, Nanning is integrating the concept of child-friendliness into every aspect of its urban development. The city’s initiatives include fun-filled children’s reading rooms in libraries, “Children’s Homes” throughout both urban and rural areas, and the “Spring Bud Project,” which mobilizes caring businesses to support the education of children facing hardships. The atmosphere of concern and support for children’s growth is growing stronger throughout the capital. This year, Nanning was named one of the first national demonstration cities for infant and toddler care services and was selected for the second batch of national child-friendly city construction programs.

With the goal of becoming a national child-friendly city, Nanning is implementing more robust initiatives to ensure that children are fully integrated into the city’s construction and development, benefiting from its convenience and safety, and experiencing the care, warmth, and happiness that city life offers.

Expanding Childcare Services to Address the Challenge of Child-Rearing

“Change, change, turn into a caterpillar…” At the Gaode Childcare Center in Xingning District, two-year-old Xiaoxiao plays joyfully with other children under her teacher’s guidance.

“The childcare center right in our neighborhood has really helped us solve the challenge of balancing work and childcare,” says Xiaoxiao’s mother, Ms. Liu. The bright and clean facility is equipped with areas like a science exploration room, activity room, and life experience center, fully furnished with all necessary equipment for infant and toddler educational activities. The center enrolls children aged 6 months to 3 years and currently has four classes with a total of 56 children. “We integrate physical activity, science, arts, and other courses into our daily care routines based on the developmental characteristics of different age groups to support the healthy growth of the children,” explains Liao Shanmin, the director of the Gaode Childcare Center.

Finding the right balance between work and childcare is a challenge for many families today. To address this, Nanning is focusing on its role as a national demonstration city for infant and toddler care by establishing a diversified and inclusive childcare service system. The city actively develops and trains childcare institutions and personnel, aiming to alleviate the burden of parenting on families and promote balanced long-term population growth. As of June this year, Nanning has 1,423 childcare service institutions, offering 30,800 slots for children under the age of three, with 3.5 slots available per thousand people in this age group.

Creating Child-Friendly Spaces to Empower Growth

Every weekend and holiday, the “Children’s Home” in Panlong Community, Liangqing Town, Liangqing District, is buzzing with activity. This multi-functional space includes a dance rehearsal room, early childhood education area, calligraphy zone, science exploration corner, and parent-child reading area, serving as a “joyful hub” for children in the community to spend their free time.

“Our community often organizes ‘Panlong Weekend’ activities, like parent-child reading sessions, to encourage children’s healthy and happy growth,” says Liu Yanlin, Secretary of the Party Branch of Panlong Community, Liangqing Town, Liangqing District.

“For many families, figuring out where to take their children on weekends or holidays can be quite a headache,” says Ms. Li, a community resident. “The ‘Children’s Home’ is only about 500 meters away from our house, providing a place for children to play and learn, which gives us peace of mind.”

With a focus on children’s development and a commitment to the concept of child-friendliness, Nanning has been creating child-friendly spaces tailored to local needs, providing a supportive environment for children to thrive. From launching the “Neighborhood School Bus Safety” project—comprising 117 routes that benefit 74 primary and secondary schools—to opening 160 safe school pathways and improving the traffic environment around 114 schools, Nanning is enhancing safe school commutes. Additionally, the city is developing child-friendly parks, with spaces like Huahui Park and Shishan Park being renovated to better suit the needs of younger children. These safe and nurturing activity spaces bear witness to the citywide implementation of “child-friendliness” in the Green City.

Creating “Three Classrooms” to Share Quality Education

At a unique lesson held in Nanning No. 17 Middle School, students from various schools simultaneously participated in a class via a large electronic screen.

“This is part of the ‘1+1 Synchronized Classroom’ teaching model, which relies on three key platforms—the ‘Distributed Classroom,’ ‘Master Teacher Classroom,’ and ‘Prestigious School Network Classroom.’ These platforms break down geographical barriers, enabling students in remote classrooms to interact with those in the main teaching room and participate in the same lessons,” explains Fang Mei, Deputy Director of the Nanning Modern Education Center. This approach effectively addresses the challenge of insufficient course offerings and teacher shortages in schools across counties, cities, and townships with weaker educational resources, fostering the shared use of high-quality teaching resources.

As part of its urban-rural education sharing initiative, Nanning equipped 410 urban and rural classrooms with “Three Classrooms” hardware in 2022. Specifically, 80 main teaching classrooms were set up in leading schools to serve as models, while 330 receiving classrooms were provided to schools in counties, cities, and townships where teaching resources are less developed. These efforts support the balanced development of compulsory education and promote urban-rural integration.

Today, the “Three Classrooms” model is regularly and flexibly used across a wide range of primary and secondary schools in Nanning. The city has developed a robust mechanism to expand access to quality education through digital platforms, significantly enhancing classroom teaching quality. Additionally, teachers’ instructional skills and digital literacy have improved, school standards have generally risen, and gaps between regions, urban and rural areas, and different schools have been effectively narrowed.

“Children are the future of our nation and the hope of our people. On their path to growth and success, we serve as both companions and guides,” said a representative from the Women’s Federation. With a focus on children’s needs, the city is actively advancing the development of a child-friendly urban environment, aiming to provide optimal conditions, surroundings, and services for children’s growth and ensuring that child development is seamlessly integrated into the broader context of economic and social progress.