Summer fun ends: Time to study

For Zhong Yelin, 14, summer used to be a time for fun, even though his parents had moved nearly 1,000 kilometers away to earn a living.

The boy, from rural Feixi county in Hefei, Anhui province, said he spent past summers traveling back and forth to Xi’an, Shaanxi province, to visit his parents or play with other children in Zhongpai village.

But this summer he is attending courses to prepare for the high school entrance exam next year.

He l eaves home i n the morning, returns for lunch and repeats the trip in the afternoon.

“It’s a little boring, but it seems I don’t have any other choice,” Zhong said.

His parents migrated to Xi’an in 2000 and have been running a tofu workshop. The boy was born in the city but was sent back to their hometown three years later to live with his grandparents.

Last year, the house of Zhong’s grandparents was demolished, so they have to live with Zhong’s uncle.

“If my parents had been home, we might have been able to protect the house,” Zhong said.

The latest reunion of all the family members was during Spring Festival.

“Sometimes I miss my parents and brother very much. And I used to have more freedom to play with my friends. For example, we once traveled about 20 kilometers to a scenic spot by bike,” Zhong said.

His older brother Zhong Qingsong, 22, lived with their parents and attended primary school in Xi’an until he was in fifth grade. But he was also sent back to Hefei as schooling in the city was hard and costly, according to the younger Zhong.

Three years later, the elder Zhong dropped out of school and returned to Xi’an to learn cooking, “since he didn’t want to be schooled anymore”, said Zhong Yelin, adding that he himself wanted a good education.

Zhong said his school performance ranks in the top five in his class, in which about one-third of the more than 30 students are left-behind children.

Luo Junmei, Zhong’s sisterin-law, said, “The boy is goodmannered, while many of the stay-at-home children can be very naughty.”

“I understand my parents’ choice to earn money for the family, but if I were them, I would prefer to stay in Hefei so that I could take good care of the whole family,” Zhong said.

I understand my parents’ choice to earn money for the family, but if I were them, I would prefer to stay in Hefei so that I could take good care of the whole family.” Zhong Yelin,