BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rolling fields stretch toward the horizon, with a stand of bamboo swaying gently behind. Here, children collect eggs from hens' nests, plant sweet potatoes in soft soil, and wade into clear streams after darting loaches.

This is the kindergarten in Wangqiao, a village in Sanming City, east China's Fujian Province. It's hard to believe that just a few years ago, the school was on the brink of disappearing.

Back then, it wasn't really a kindergarten at all -- just a single mixed-age class with over 20 kids, supervised by two volunteer teachers. Many parents made daily trips to the county seat to drop off their children at private kindergartens instead.

The revival of this rural school offers a snapshot of how Chinese society is pulling out all the stops to encourage families to have more babies, as birth rates remain low and the population ages -- trends familiar to many countries experiencing rapid economic and social development.

The country's total fertility rate has remained below the replacement level for years and has dropped to ultra-low levels more recently, leading to a population decline since 2022. Officials estimate an annual dip of 0.2 percent through 2035. China's population stands at roughly 1.4 billion.

It is an implausible turn for a nation that had long considered large families a blessing. China imposed family-planning policies in the 1970s to rein in a population boom that strained its resources.

Beijing adjusted to recent demographic shifts by lifting its long-standing restrictions, allowing all couples to have two kids in 2015 and then three in 2021.

The effort has since evolved into a broad campaign to lower the costs of childbirth, childrearing and education, aiming to make society more supportive of having children.

LESS COMMUTING, MORE EQUAL ACCESS

For families in Wangqiao, change arrived in 2019, when a public kindergarten at the county seat took over the management of the village kindergarten. The county provided start-up funds, the township upgraded utilities, and the village contributed 3,000 square meters of land free of charge as an outdoor learning space.

Nowadays, the Wangqiao campus has more than 110 children in six classes. It shares staff, programs and budgets with the county kindergarten, operating as a branch of that school.

For Qian Xiaojie, a mother of two girls who runs a breakfast stall near an industrial park, the new kindergarten is just across the street from her home. She no longer has to endure the frantic commutes to the county seat that she once faced when her older daughter attended a private kindergarten there.

"It's a great relief," she said. Qian speaks with admiration about the new facilities, programs and teachers. And she has a clear point of comparison.

"On her second day in the kindergarten, my older daughter told me she didn't want to go back," Qian recalled. "But my younger one is always excited. She keeps telling me what she learned and how kind her teachers are -- she loves it."

In addition to her village classes, Qiu Yanchu, Qian's younger daughter, spends time at the main campus in the county seat. There, she grips metal rods in the science room to navigate an electric-maze game and climbs and leaps across the gym's play structures. She has found a world of stimulation beyond what her village can currently offer.

The exchange runs both ways. Children from the county seat also rotate through Wangqiao, swapping polished floors for open fields and getting a close look at rural life.

Chen Shiqi, who attends the county's kindergarten, still talks about the newborn lamb she saw during her stay in Wangqiao. She often tugs at her mother's sleeve, asking when she can visit it again and whether the little lamb has grown.

Along with 12 million other children nationwide, both girls, who are now in their final year of kindergarten, have benefited from a tuition waiver this semester, each saving around 2,000 yuan (about 283 U.S. dollars). This initiative is part of a landmark policy introduced in August to phase in free preschool education.

The policy wiped an estimated 20 billion yuan off families' bills this semester alone, said authorities.

DIRECT CASH INCENTIVE

The broader push to raise birth rates includes a nationwide childcare subsidy: 3,600 yuan (about 510 U.S. dollars) per child under age 3 each year.

For the first time since 1949, China is rolling out a large-scale, inclusive public-welfare program that puts cash directly into the hands of its citizens.

Huang Wei, an associate professor at the National School of Development at Peking University, praised the policy's target design, noting that the age window is critical for child development and that cash transfer tends to have the greatest impact on low- and middle-income households.

Guo Yang, an official with the Ministry of Finance, said the central government funds roughly 90 percent of the benefit, with an initial 90 billion yuan earmarked for this year. Families get to keep the full amount, as the subsidies are exempt from personal income tax.

A woman surnamed Wang in Changchun, in northeast China's Jilin Province, gave birth in January. The 300-yuan monthly subsidy is enough to cover the cost of her baby's diapers.

"This money sends an encouraging signal. It makes us feel more confident about raising a child," said Wang.

Subsidies aside, China has expanded the coverage of childbirth insurance, extended maternity leave, and increased the supply of affordable childcare.

BEYOND DIAPERS

For some families, though, immediate hurdles loom larger.

Li Qian, an expectant mother working in media in Beijing who asked to be identified only by a pseudonym, is searching for a reliable postnatal care center, followed by a trustworthy confinement nanny, and eventually a childcare helper.

Quality postnatal care in Beijing can cost around 100,000 yuan a month, and a nanny about 18,000 yuan for 28 days. Still, she said, steep prices do not ensure dependable care.

"The industry needs clearer standards and a real evaluation system," she said. "And it needs stronger oversight."

A baby boom in the post-COVID Year of the Dragon, combined with the slew of birth-friendly policies, helped lift China's newborn count to 9.54 million in 2024 -- a birth rate of 6.77 per 1,000 people, up from 6.39 the year before.

But worries remain.

"Compared with the day-to-day costs of diapers and formula, what really worries me is education," Wang said in Changchun. Many of her friends start tutoring their kids as early as primary school, with some spending as much as 10,000 yuan a month.

"We keep hearing about easing the burden on students and on families," she said. "But the intensity of competitions doesn't feel much lighter."

The concern is shared by Qian, the mother in Fujian, whose older daughter is now in middle school. "There's not much we can do to help our kids at home. They need more tutoring at school."

Still, at 34, she and her husband are discussing whether to try for a third child -- boy or girl, it doesn't matter.

"I've always wanted a bustling, lively family," she said. Enditem