Beijing to open more nurseries by 2025

By 2025, Beijing expects to open at least one nursery in each subdistrict of its central urban area to take care of children when their parents don't have time, Beijing Daily reported on Thursday.

The first such nursery, run by the Liuliqiao Subdistrict in Fengtai district opened recently. It provides full-day, half-day and temporary care, as well as parent-child activities on the weekends.

In an area of 100 square meters, there are zones for games, art, reading and exercise. During afternoon nap, child-care worker Jing Jing checked the breath of children aged 1 to 3 every 15 minutes, and every five minutes for babies under one year old, to prevent them from nose and mouth asphyxia.

A mother, surnamed Lin, picked up her three-year-old daughter from the nursery. She has been a housewife for three years, and plans to find a job. She said the nursery helps a lot.

By 2022, the number of institutions offering nursery services in Beijing reached 600, and the demand for more such institutions close to residential communities or workplaces is strong, local health commission said.

The flexible, convenient and cheap nursery services will cover more areas, it added.