Participants at a rural summer camp in China [Captured from China's Fengmian News]
Participants at a rural summer camp in China [Captured from China's Fengmian News]

"Chop firewood, feed pigs, dig potatoes — and if you don't earn enough points, you eat only boiled potatoes. The price: 2 million won ($1,410)."

Rural summer camps designed to put children through deliberate hardship are gaining popularity among Chinese parents. The programs isolate children in remote villages to learn farm labor and can cost as much as 2 million won — a price that has sparked debate among Chinese internet users.

According to Fengmian News and other local Chinese media, the camps' defining feature is a strict ban on mobile phones and internet access throughout the stay on a working farm.

Child participants must wake up early each day to chop firewood, feed pigs and dig potatoes, and occasionally sell the produce they harvest themselves.

Children earn points based on how much work they complete and can exchange those points for daily necessities. Those who fall short may find themselves with nothing but boiled potatoes to stave off hunger.

The camps operate mainly in remote rural areas of southern China — Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces — and charge between 5,000 yuan ($741) and 10,000 yuan for a 10-day program.

Organizers market the camps as a chance for children to learn that earning money is not easy. "Children come to understand through hardship that making a living takes real effort," they say, adding that participation offers a chance to correct bad lifestyle habits and build a sense of gratitude.

Parental reactions have been mixed. Some praised the results, saying their children were "completely transformed" after returning from camp having previously been glued to their phones. But many others reported no improvement, saying habits such as sleeping in and picky eating remained unchanged.

The camps have also ignited an online debate in China over whether forcing children to endure hardship in facilities that lack even basic amenities constitutes meaningful education.

Education experts said short-term, high-intensity labor alone cannot fundamentally address phone addiction or a tendency to procrastinate.

The remorseful behavior children display after being placed in harsh conditions, they said, is merely a short-term stress response — not genuine change.


hanimomo@heraldcorp.com