"Did you spend money on plane tickets just to make me do these chores?" a teenager wept in front of the camera, yet despite crying, he did not stop working. Hailing from Shanghai, the boy continued to chop wood, carry bricks, and clean fields in a mountainous area while in tears.
Recently, numerous such videos have surfaced on Chinese social media, showing children performing arduous tasks on farms and expressing their distress through tears. In another video, a child was heard pleading, "I am very tired and can no longer take it. Mom, I was wrong. I want to go back home and study diligently."
These are China's "Chi Ku" or hardship endurance training camps. Organized in regions like Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou for children aged 6 to 16, many parents believe today's youth are becoming too lazy and fragile, prompting them to send their offspring to these camps to toughen them up and build resilience.
While such camps have existed in China since 2000, their popularity has surged recently. Paradoxically, even after witnessing footage of children crying in these videos, many parents are still enrolling their sons and daughters in these programs.
Operated primarily as commercial ventures by various organizations, these programs charge around 5,000 yuan (approximately $700) for a 10-day training session and up to 10,000 yuan for a month.
