China · The Thaiger
Chinese parents pay thousands for farm camps that leave children in tears
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Parents across China are paying thousands of yuan to send their children to rural camps that put them to work. The programmes have city kids digging potatoes, stripping bark and feeding pigs through the summer holiday.
Key facts
- Parents across China are paying thousands of yuan to send their children to rural camps that put them to work
- The camps are sold as courses in hardship
- A 10-day course costs more than 4,000 yuan or about 600 US dollars, and a full month can run past 10,000 yuan
- A mother in Shanghai sent her seven-year-old daughter away for 10 days
Summary
The camps are sold as courses in hardship. Organisers say a season of farm labour teaches children what physical work feels like and what money is actually worth.
A 10-day course costs more than 4,000 yuan or about 600 US dollars, and a full month can run past 10,000 yuan. Most of the camps operate in the southwest across Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, where summers stay comparatively cool.