Parents fork out small fortunes to give their children a taste of the world
A growing number of affluent parents are sending their children overseas to improve their English and develop critical thinking skills
There is a Chinese saying that those who seek wisdom should "read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles".
While one could easily spend a lifetime accomplishing the first task, many affluent mainland parents are increasingly choosing to put their children on the path to scholarship by sending them overseas for a season.
Agencies who organise overseas summer camps for primary- and secondary-school pupils report an explosion in the number of parents willing to shell out up to 40,000 yuan (HK$49,000) - twice the annual per capita disposal income of the average urban mainlander - to introduce their children to the world beyond China.
Parents say that spending a few weeks in Australia, Britain or the US - often staying in the home of a foreign host family - has helped their children improve their English while gaining a wider view of the world and a better understanding of the West.
Terence Yang, of Shenzhen, has sent his 15-year-old son to Britain, France and the US over the last three years, hoping that the experience will prepare the boy for a likely university education abroad.
"I hope my son can become a person able to survive by himself and think independently. This is what's absent in the mainland's education," Yang said.