Xiong'an school fills needs for family

Dong Fusheng said he was lucky that his 6-year-old son was able to enroll in a great primary school in Xiong'an New Area, Hebei province, and that he will register in September.

"We all want our children to have a better education, don't we?" the 36-year-old said. Dong and his wife both worked in Beijing before September last year, and he had felt great living pressure.

In Beijing, he needed to pay more than 2,000 yuan ($289) every month for his son's school fees at a private kindergarten and more than 4,000 yuan on rent for an apartment which has only one bedroom.

"Our family's monthly income was about 10,000 yuan, which would be almost spent," he said.

His hometown is Longwan, Xiongxian county, one of the three counties covered by Xiong'an New Area. He went to Beijing in 2005, after which he met with his wife. They also have a 4-year-old girl.

The great school he mentioned is the Xiong'an branch of Zhongguancun No 3 Primary School at the capital's Haidian district. It is a public school in Xiongxian county and was called Xiongxian No 2 Primary School in the past.

After Xiong'an was set up in April 2017, as a place to take over Beijing's non-capital functions, improving the quality of education in the new economic zone has been a key task for local authorities.

The primary school was changed to be branch of Zhongguancun No 3 Primary School, meaning some teachers from the school in Beijing would be sent here. Measures for upgrading would be taken in every aspect, including teachers' capabilities and course arrangements — all in the same standards as the school in Beijing.

"The reason we were in Beijing was to give my children a better education. So why shouldn't we come back when my hometown has the same education with the capital?" Dong said.

To help their son adapt in his hometown, Dong's wife returned first and sent their son to a local kindergarten in Xiongxian, also under the management of a school in Beijing.

"A year's fee at the kindergarten is only about 2,000 yuan," Dong said. "And we can live in our own apartment in the county's downtown area. It covers 120 square meters and has three bedrooms," he said.

Dong plans to resign from his job as a kindergarten teacher in Beijing next year to reunite with his family.

"Xiong'an is the place where we will finally settle down and live an easier life," he said.