Micro schools aim to make a major impact

Many well-off parents are now sending their children to non-State establishments that foster creativity. Liu Wei reports for Xinhua.

When Zhang Xiaodai was an A-grade student at a junior high school in Chengdu, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, she found her studies dull. She wondered why her PE teacher was often sick but her math teacher was not, which meant almost every PE class was replaced by math.

"School was no fun at all. My life was crammed with endless memorization, drills and tests," the 14-year-old student said.