If you want to know the present modern China, go to Shanghai.

But if you want to know what the future looks like, go to Shenzhen.

And I agree. Shenzhen is a vibrant young metropolis with an urban planning that emphasizes sustainability, efficient public transportation, and smart city technologies.

Shenzhen is also well known for having some of the best and most modern schools in the whole country.

Many schools in Shenzhen are equipped with smart classroom technologies, with digital whiteboards, tablets, and online learning platforms.

The integration of technology into the curriculum is common, with coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence being part of the learning experience in some schools. I will show you an example of what I am talking about.

This is a regular high school in Shenzhen.

You will find a lot of open and green spaces.

This is a science library.

This is also a regular classroom equipped with high-definition screens and 5G.

A modern and well-equipped biology laboratory.

This is a robotics lab.

The school also has a flight simulator for the new C919, an airplane 100% developed and manufactured in China.

Students also come with an artificial intelligence laboratory.

Also spaces dedicated to art, like a dance practicing hall, a music classroom, and a theater for performances and ceremonies.

Physical activity is also a priority here, so spaces for sports and different disciplines can be found all around the school.

This is also the cafeteria and the students' dormitories.

So, basically this is the quality of some high schools in Shenzhen. Today I am visiting Lidersun in Fujian province, a technology company that specializes in the manufacturing of Internet of Things products.

They are also developing several technologies for what is the classroom of the future today.

Now one of the projects or the products that this brand Lidersun is working on is kind of like the classroom of the future, I like to call it like that because we can see a lot of technology embedded in these kind of spaces to ensure a better learning process for kids.

Here in China the efforts that the authorities are putting on education are huge and that's why these kind of companies are also developing these kind of technologies. Well, to have a better understanding of Chinese education, the country implemented nine years of compulsory education in the 1980s.

It covered six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary education.

There are approximately 150,000 primary schools in China and roughly 105 million students enrolled in primary schools.

That's a lot of students.

But what is really impressive is that the net enrollment rate for primary education has consistently been above 99%, indicating almost universal access. For example, we are checking some of the lamps that they're using in the classrooms.

Nowadays they're trying to implement more and more is this kind of lamp that we have on top of me.

They're kind of directing the light to the students down there so the light is not spread all around the room.

That will ensure a better focus on each student rather than a more irregular lining all around the classroom.

They also have some sensors that can detect the natural lining in the classroom.

So they can identify which spots in the classroom needs more light. Well, China has around 80,000 junior secondary schools and about 14,000 senior secondary schools.

There has been significant growth in enrollment rates at the high school level.

The gross enrollment rate for secondary education reached approximately 89% by 2020.

Approximately 60 million students are enrolled in junior secondary schools and around 24 million in senior secondary schools.

The government has also promoted vocational education to provide alternative pathways for students, ensuring also that those who do not want to pursue academic routes can still have access to quality education and training, which is very positive. We can see also some screens in the back.

Nowadays in most of the classrooms in China, and I'm surprised about that, they're using just these kind of screens rather than just the traditional blackboard.

These kind of screens also have anti-reflective technologies to make it better for the students to understand and see the content that the teacher is sharing with the students. Now, let's talk a little bit about the Gaokao, which is the most important exam for Chinese high school students, determining the eligibility for higher education institutions.

This exam is actually highly competitive and is very stressful for students.

They actually spend years preparing just for this.

This exam includes subjects such as Chinese, mathematics, English, and either science or humanities comprehensive tests, depending basically on the student's chosen track. We can see also there are several cameras all around, and it's because during the pandemic the learning process didn't stop.

Instead of that, it moved to distant learning, which means kids can connect to the class and they can still kind of assist to the lesson that day.

Actually, if some kids for some reason cannot go to class that day, the class might be recorded and they can also have access later on to the information that they learned in the space. It is also quite interesting to learn how committed the government is with the education.

The Chinese government has committed to spending at least 4% of its GDP on education.

This is a target that has been met in recent years.

As I said, this commitment underscores the importance placed on education as a foundation for national development.

Actually, in recent years, China's education budget has seen steady increases.

For instance, in 2020, the total expenditure on education was approximately 5.3 trillion yuan.

That's about 830 billion US dollars.

This represents a substantial investment in the sector. We also see different kind of features and devices that are designed for classrooms, like air purifiers.

If a kid might be sick and might not have the symptoms yet, but probably they can spread still the virus to the classroom, these kind of devices can actually purify the air in the classroom, which is very clever. Now, significant funds are allocated for the construction and renovation of school buildings, particularly in rural areas.

This includes modernizing facilities and ensuring that schools are equipped with the necessary educational technologies.

Investments are also made in improving teacher salaries and providing ongoing professional development and training to enhance the quality of teaching. I was also checking the tables and chairs that are specially designed for the position of the kids when they're studying or they're learning.

And they also have a different feature for resting, like this chair we have here.

It's adjustable.

So here in China, for example, nap is something really important.

Actually, kids enjoy the nap time during their class schedule.

This can be adapted.

So this is like a more comfortable position for kids to have a nap.

And actually, I'm pretty sure you have seen some videos that went viral that kids are using these kind of tables to adjust them and take a nap.

I'll show you these kind of videos. The investments in digital learning platforms or resources is also huge.

And this was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic time when online education became essential.

Actually, efforts continue now to expand access to digital education in remote areas.

There is funding for development of smart classrooms equipped with modern educational technologies to enhance the learning experience.

And also little lamps.

Of course, they're using the same kind of technology with panels inside that can direct the light in a better way.

They're using this kind of warm light technology not to make the eyes so tired when they're studying.

So as you can tell, they're using different kind of technologies in these kind of spaces to improve the educational process for young people and kids in China.

And actually, there are several middle and high schools in China already using all these kind of devices and tech within the classrooms. Something that I personally believe is a wonderful achievement is that access to education in China has really improved over the past few decades.

There are significant achievements in universal primary education.

They have expanded secondary and higher education enrollment.

And also the efforts to reduce disparities between urban and rural areas are very remarkable.

The government's sustained investment and reform efforts have played a crucial role in these advancements.

This has helped to position China as a country with broad and growing educational access. In China, higher education has expanded rapidly.

The number of universities and colleges are increasing significantly.

Actually, by 2020, China had over 2,700 higher education institutions.

Now, this number is really impressive because the gross enrollment rate in higher education increased from about 3.4% in 1990 to over 54% in 2020.

This reflects a broader access to university education. Folks, I'm going to be wandering around nice and beautiful places here in China and documenting about it.

I will also be Instagramming my day-to-day and my trips in this awesome country.

Feel free to follow me and leave your comments and impressions over there about life in China.

I will leave the link to my account in the description down below.

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My name is Rafael, thanks for watching and stay safe until next time.

Bye.