Innovation and dedication

The Beijing Ririxin School: Wang Xiaofeng, his wife Zhang Dongqing and a group of parents established the school in 2006. The campus is located in an orchard in Changping district to ensure the children grow up in an environment that's close to nature.

The initial funding came from parents, who also offered to participate in the school's administration. The curriculum is based on the standardized, national system, but it also has a strong emphasis on traditional Chinese culture.

There are now preschool, primary and junior middle school divisions, and there are plans to open a high school division. A branch has also been established in Princeton, New Jersey.

As of September, the school had 115 teachers and more than 380 students.

Aurora Academy International: Xie Kang, a mother of two, was disappointed when she tried to find a school for her children. So in 2014, she set up AAI with a group of friends in Beijing who have academic backgrounds in pedagogy, psychology and musical education.

The school accepts children ages 4 to 6, plus those qualified to enroll in grades 1 to 3 at primary school. The children are taught in small classes, and lessons related to specific topics are often taught at appropriate venues, such as museums, galleries and factories.

The AWU School of Creation and Imagination: Located in a small yard in Beijing's Shunyi district, the school was launched in 2015 by an architectural designer and a group of friends.

The school has no fixed curriculum. Students are allowed to decide what they want to learn and achieve every day, encouraging them to discover, explore and summarize, in the hope of nurturing their problem-solving abilities.

AWU has four teachers and eight students, half at preschool level and half at primary.