China Welfare Institute Children's Palace

China Welfare Institute Children's Palace

The China Welfare Institute Children's Palace is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a science education base.

Established on June 1, 1953, the China Welfare Institute Children's Palace is a comprehensive, community-based extracurricular education institution for children, founded by the late Madam Soong Ching Ling, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China. With a vision grounded in the needs of human historical development and the creation of a better future, she established the institution based on scientific principles of children's education.

As a fully funded public institution, the Children's Palace has a total of 131 staff positions. Currently, it employs 2 senior-level teachers, 20 high-level teachers, and 40 mid-level teachers, with an average teacher age of 35.

For over 60 years, the Children's Palace has consistently adhered to the guiding principles of "being experimental, exemplary, strengthening scientific research, and engaging in international exchanges and cooperation." With the philosophy of serving children 365 days a year, it has planned and carried out a series of colorful, public welfare-oriented cultural and educational activities for children. These activities focus on ideological and moral education, with an emphasis on cultivating creativity and practical abilities. It pioneered a range of influential children’s programs in Shanghai and across the nation, such as the "Cuckoo Singing Festival," "Little Peacock Dance Festival," "Drama Festival," and "Children's Games Festival," playing an irreplaceable role in the ideological and moral education of minors and the cultivation of well-rounded talents.

Based on the different age characteristics of its target audience—children aged 4 to 16—and the demands of social development, the China Welfare Institute Children's Palace has established over 100 interest groups in science and technology, as well as the arts. These groups have played a unique educational role in nurturing children’s interests, promoting healthy personality development, and fostering good moral behavior. Notable alumni include China’s first naval engineer, the country’s youngest computer PhD, renowned painter Chen Yifei, famous singer Huang Ying, writer Lu Xing’er, and actress Sun Li, all of whom were once members of these groups.

To date, the Children's Palace has organized a wide variety of activities for more than 27 million children, provided interest training and social practice opportunities for over 400,000 primary and secondary school students in Shanghai, and hosted 200,000 domestic and international visitors, including more than 60 heads of state, prime ministers, ministers, marshals, generals, party leaders, and their spouses. It has become a showcase of the spirit and demeanor of Shanghai’s children. The China Welfare Institute Children's Palace Little Friends Art Troupe has visited 23 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, and is hailed as the "City Business Card of Shanghai" and the "Little Ambassadors of China."

The China Welfare Institute Children's Palace has always maintained an open, cooperative, and competitive stance, advancing with the times, exploring, innovating, and practicing. It insists on prioritizing scientific research, emphasizing the integration of theory with practice, using advanced theories to guide practice, and refining theories from practical experience. It has undertaken and completed several major research projects, including the national key project “History of the Development of Children's Palace Education” during the Eighth Five-Year Plan, the national key project “Survey and Countermeasure Research on the Status of China's Children's Palaces for the 21st Century” during the Ninth Five-Year Plan, and the national key project “Research and Development of Comprehensive Practical Activities in Children's Palaces for the 21st Century” during the Tenth Five-Year Plan. These contributions have significantly advanced the theoretical development of extracurricular education nationwide. In 2009, the Children's Palace took on the Ministry of Education’s 11th Five-Year Plan key project “Mobile Children's Palace – Research on Activity Models Suitable for Extracurricular Education Development in Central and Western Regions,” as well as the Ministry of Culture’s scientific innovation project “Operational Models for Conducting Extracurricular Science and Technology Education in ‘Special’ Schools,” along with two Shanghai municipal education science research projects. Entrusted by the Ministry of Education, the “National Youth Extracurricular Education Training Center (Shanghai Branch)” and, commissioned by the Communist Youth League Central Committee, the “China Education Association Children's Extracurricular Education Branch Training Base” were established. As two major national institutions for training extracurricular education faculty, they have organized nearly 40 training sessions or seminars, covering more than 4,000 management personnel and key teachers from over 28 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country. These efforts have played a guiding and exemplary role in promoting the educational research achievements of extracurricular education.

The China Welfare Institute Children's Palace is a National Civilized Unit and a National Advanced Youth Palace. It has been awarded honors such as the Shanghai Expo Advanced Collective (Little Friends Art Troupe), Shanghai Greening Advanced Collective, Garden Unit, Foreign Affairs Reception Advanced Unit, Shanghai Mass Cultural Work Advanced Collective, Shanghai Advanced Unit for Ideological and Moral Education of Minors, and Shanghai Model Workers’ Collective. It has also received the “Shanghai Civilized Unit” title 17 consecutive times and has been designated as a National Practice Base for Juvenile Moral Development, a National Demonstration Base for Youth Extracurricular Activities, a National Science Education Base, and a National Advanced Unit for Science Education. It is widely regarded as the “Golden Cradle” for the happy growth of children.

On October 7, 2019, the China Welfare Institute Children's Palace was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units