Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

FROM child-friendly communities, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks to travel systems, Shenzhen is integrating the concept of a child-friendly city into its every corner and its future urban landscape.

A recent example was manifested in the architectural design scheme of the Third Children’s Hospital of Shenzhen in Longgang District.

According to the scheme released by the Shenzhen Municipal Public Works Bureau, the new hospital project will adopt an ocean-themed design system to create a child-friendly environment to minimize the fear and psychological pressure children face going to a medical space.

Shenzhen, a young city full of vitality, has taken the lead in building a child-friendly city in China since the end of 2015. From system design to detailed contents, from facilities to culture, the city has been advocating children’s participation in public life in a bid to bring infinite imagination to urban development from children’s perspective.

In May this year, Shenzhen released guidelines for the construction of a child-friendly public service system, which were China’s first local standards for building a child-friendly city. The guidelines officially took effect June 1, 2022.

According to the Shenzhen Women’s Federation, the guidelines have summarized the city’s experience in prioritizing child care and child-friendly public services over the last six years. Based on that, the city has formulated systematic local standards covering child-friendly public services and its supporting facilities.

The guidelines are focused on children’s needs and aim to promote their healthy and happy development, while establishing a framework for a child-friendly public service system with eight subsystems namely health, education, recreation and sports, games, travel, community and family, social security and legal protection.

In Shenzhen Children’s Library, there is an area specifically created for children under 6 years old. The area not only adopts a rich variety of fairy tale elements, but also takes into account the needs of children for that age group. Bookshelves, desks and sinks are all lower than 1 meter high.

“She can get all these books on the bookshelf. The bookshelf’s height, as well as the stool’s, is just right for her. It’s like being at home here,” said a citizen surnamed Yuan, who had accompanied her daughter to the library.

“There are elements like a castle, banyan tree and karst cave. Through these external environmental factors, we hope to attract children’s attention and encourage them to stay and read here, so as to further develop their reading habits,” said Hu Jian, deputy director of the library.

The library’s child-friendliness is also reflected in its services. Every year, the library would launch the annual children’s book selection activity to invite children’s participation. “Last year, over 1 million students participated in our activity, which fully embodied the concept of children’s participation,” Hu said.

“In our moss study, there are some small moss potted plants on the table, and a magnifying glass will be placed next to them so that children can observe the plant’s growth,” said Cheng Xiaoyu, deputy head of Shenzhen Children’s Park.

Shenzhen spearheaded in exploring and practicing building a child-friendly city in China at the end of 2015, and issued the country’s first set of construction guidelines covering nine fields, namely communities, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks, travel systems, baby care rooms, practice bases and children’s participation.

In 2020, the Baihua Child-friendly Block in Futian District, which is the city’s first child-friendly block, received a thumbs-up from a mission of 22 foreign diplomats and U.N. representatives for its explorations in creating a welcoming environment for children.

In July 2021, Shenzhen’s innovative measures and experience in building a child-friendly city were recommended by the National Development and Reform Commission for promotion across the country.

According to official statistics, as of June 1 this year, Shenzhen had granted the titles of 273 municipal level child-friendly bases, including six child-friendly subdistricts, 40 communities/parks, 16 libraries, 32 hospitals/community health centers,  and 28 parks.

Over 1,100 baby care rooms had been built, covering public places such as transportation hubs, government service centers, parks and commercial centers.

A total of 722 community-based children’s homes had been built, and facilities for children’s activities had also been gradually increased and improved.

The city has planned to have built a demonstration child-friendly city in China by 2025, and endeavored to have child-friendly communities built across the city.