That was the answer.
A Chinese executive was telling me that every weekend she takes a two-hour high-speed train from Beijing to the city where her husband and their 10-year-old son live.
Before dawn on Monday morning, she returns to Beijing for work.
Both she and her husband have successful professional careers. They could have chosen a more comfortable life. They did not. I asked her why. Her answer came immediately:
“๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ผ.”
For those unfamiliar with it, the ๐๐ฎ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ผ is China’s national university entrance examination. For many students, the results will help determine access to some of the country’s top universities and future career opportunities. This June, ๐ญ๐ฎ.๐ต ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ took the exam. But that is not the most important number.
The more important reality is that millions of families organize a significant part of their lives around this goal.
Relocations. Long hours of travel. Additional tutoring. Years of study beginning at a very young age. Not because anyone forces them to. Because they believe it is worthwhile.
During my trip to China, I heard a great deal about artificial intelligence, e-commerce, innovation and technology-driven growth.
Yet one of the most important keys to understanding China’s development may not be found in any of those areas. It may be found in a remarkably powerful shared belief:
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป’๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
Of course, no society can guarantee complete equality of opportunity.
But when millions of students dedicate years to learning and millions of parents reorganize their lives to support them, education becomes more than a right.
It becomes a responsibility. A family investment.A shared aspiration. And, above all, a pathway to social mobility.
Perhaps that is why what impressed me most about China was not the high-speed trains, the technology or the impressive innovations.
What impressed me most was the number of people who genuinely believe that studying, working hard and preparing oneself can make a difference in life.
And perhaps that belief itself is one of China’s most valuable assets.
Escrito por Nora D’ Alessio, vicepresidenta de D’ Alessio IROL.