Chongqing—Chongqing's Guanyinqiao "Ninth Street," a trendy hotspot, transforms into a vibrant educational hub at night. Its New Era Civilization Practice City Demonstration Site illuminates as young people gather for night school activities like calligraphy, folk music, coffee tasting, and fashion styling, which are gaining increasing popularity.

Young people bring their children to learn traditional paper cutting at a night school. (Photo/ Chongqing Daily News Group)

Last year, under the national pilot for youth development-oriented cities, Jiangbei District's Guanyinqiao and Wulidian·Hezuo Village night schools were launched to meet young people's educational and social needs. These initiatives exemplify Chongqing's push for citywide youth development.

A staff member teaches students how to play drums at the night school. (Photo/ Chongqing Daily News Group)

Chongqing recently launched the Implementation Plan for Accelerating Youth Development-Oriented Cities, aiming to make the city more youth-friendly and empowering. The plan enhances institutional mechanisms, optimizes the development environment, and improves service systems, covering the entire lifecycle of young people in Chongqing. 

Ten districts and counties aim to be youth development-oriented by 2024, with full coverage by 2027, positioning Chongqing at the forefront of national youth development.

"Chongqing is renowned for pampering its tourists, and we're equally committed to supporting our youth," said Zhang Ke, Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Communist Youth League, at a June 13 press conference on the new implementation plan.

Zhang highlighted that 41 municipal departments have introduced concrete policies to support youth in education, employment, housing, marriage, rights protection, and health. These comprehensive measures aim to attract and retain young talent by providing robust support and services, ensuring they thrive in Chongqing.

Ye Shengping, Second-Level Inspector at the Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, reported that since the beginning of the year, Chongqing has held nearly 6,000 online and offline job fairs, offering 940,000 positions. 

Weekly employment and entrepreneurship events have facilitated 41 school-enterprise partnerships tailored to different educational backgrounds and career preferences. Over 10,000 graduates have received training, and 4,537 have participated in internships to meet the demands of the "33618" modern manufacturing industry.

College students attend recruitment activities, hoping to find a good job for themselves. （Photo/ Chongqing Daily News Group)

In April, Chongqing launched an action plan to attract and retain one million graduates for employment and entrepreneurship. "As of the end of May, 177,100 graduates have chosen to stay and work in Chongqing, a 10.34% year-on-year increase," said Ye.

Furthermore, Chongqing supports young researchers in major scientific projects. Feng Guangxin, Second-Level Inspector at the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, said the bureau has optimized the Municipal Natural Science Foundation projects to favor young talent. 

Feng elaborated that over 80% of general project funds aid early-career researchers. Customized elite and postdoctoral projects provide initial funding, while the "Doctor Express" project helps newly hired Ph. D.s in companies conduct applied basic research.

Jiangbei District has focused on sustainable development to ensure night schools' long-term success. Wu Yali, Deputy District Mayor of Jiangbei, stated that efforts are being made to address issues like weak organization, inadequate teaching staff, outdated curricula, and low appeal, pushing to become a sustainable model.

Young people learn traditional Chinese calligraphy in night school. (Photo/ Chongqing Daily News Group)