Public relations worker Wendy Wu joined a makeup class with 15 other young people at a studio in Chaoyang district, Beijing, in January.

The first session focused on teaching the group how to apply a proper base layer of makeup, with the teacher explaining the method while the students practiced it.

It was the first time that Wu had taken part in a night school course.

"I got the idea to learn makeup six months ago, but was too busy to start until last month. After I found the information to enroll for the night school near to where I live, I signed up for the course right away," she said.

She said the course, which cost 500 yuan ($70) for five sessions, each lasting two hours, was an affordable and enjoyable experience.

"Joining the night school is cheaper than enrolling at commercial training institutions. Although the number of classes is limited, the school provides an opportunity to gain experience and learn basic knowledge," Wu said.

Night schools have recently become a new trend, attracting eager learners such as Wu, who work during the day and acquire new skills in the evening.

Yang Zhaodi, founder of the school Wu joined, said that since she posted a recruitment message on the Xiaohongshu lifestyle-focused social media platform in November, more than 5,000 people have expressed an interest in joining classes. The school is named Dawanpianyi, which translates as "high quality with low price".

The classes cover a range of artistic and cultural pursuits, including dancing, vocal training, traditional handicrafts, beauty, fitness lessons, wine tasting, filming vlogs, and making coffee. Some of them are highly sought after.

China's latest night school trend began in Shanghai in September, when enrollment for the Citizen Night School for Arts attracted 650,000 applicants competing for 10,000 places, which caused the enrollment platform to crash.

Since then, night schools have become increasingly popular in big cities, with many young urban residents choosing to join classes after work.

Weekend Charging is one of the first new night schools in Shanghai. Its founder, Kevin Wang, a 32-year-old finance industry worker in the city, has devoted all his free time to running the school for more than a year.

Over 1,000 young people are currently taking more than 20 different courses as members of the Weekend Charging community. A typical class in Shanghai or Beijing, which consists of six to 12 lessons, costs about 600 yuan.

As dining out in these cities often costs several hundred yuan, the school's classes are reasonably priced for young people.

Wang believes Weekend Charging's popularity is mainly due to a desire to "learn something else after work".

"Young people in big cities often focus too much on their careers, but lose track of their own lives, hobbies, and what's happening outside their fields of expertise. This can add to their mental problems, triggering a sense of anxiety and depression," he said.

Positive turn

Li Shiyu, 28, a white-collar worker in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, used to be bogged down by intense work pressure, often toiling late into the night. However, her life took a positive turn after she enrolled in a night school ballet course at the end of last year.

"I started leaving work early to catch up on classes, and gradually developed more interests in my life," she said.

In addition to ballet, she signed up for lessons on playing African drums. "I started to look forward to what would happen after I left work," Li said.

Yang, founder of the night school in Beijing, said that one of the most popular courses focuses on interpreting I Ching, also known as the Book of Changes, one of the oldest classic Chinese texts. Lessons for tarot card reading are also in demand.

Yang said this shows that young people are more uncertain than others and sometimes feel lost about their place in today's society.

"The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted people's lives for three years, leaving them more uncertain about the future. The atomized urban lifestyle also makes it difficult for young people to express their frustrations, with not enough help on hand to provide guidance. As a result, young people might turn to divination for some psychological comfort," Yang said.

Besides makeup and fortunetelling, sports courses are also highly sought after, with tennis, badminton and other pursuits extremely popular.

In the 1980s, night schools were also popular in China, offering courses such as computer technology and foreign languages, with participants joining them mainly to enhance their skills.

However, young people today — driven by their interests and passions — are testing themselves, broadening their education and making new progress through various night school courses.

Sufficient income

Zhang Yiwu, a Chinese language and literature professor at Peking University, said many young people now have sufficient income to meet their daily needs, while still having some money left to pursue their interests.

"A significant proportion of them can maintain a good standard of living and still have time to pursue their interests. This phenomenon of enhancing personal development is not surprising — it is a natural result of social progress," he said.

Night schools are not only popular in metropolises, they are the preferred after-work destinations for young people in second- and third-tier cities.

At the start of this year, Jiang Jiumin and a friend established the Hongru Night School in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province. Jiang was surprised to find that many young people living in the city shared his desire for a life beyond work.

"To be honest, I started the night school for myself. I come from Shangrao city, Jiangxi, and worked in the neighboring Fujian province for several years. After returning to Nanchang a few years ago, I found that I had no friends with similar interests and ideas as myself," Jiang said.

"My childhood friends and classmates now have their own families, and it's hard to make friends with new colleagues in Nanchang."

Jiang decided to establish a part-time night school to help young people facing similar challenges expand their social circles.

"I was initially worried that night school courses in a second-tier city would not attract enough students, but I was proved wrong," he said.

A few days after Jiang posted details about the night school courses on Xiaohongshu, he received hundreds of messages inquiring about the classes.

"There is real demand among young people today to reconstruct their cultural lives and cultivate their interests after work," Jiang said.

Moreover, he believes that sharing is the core concept of night school courses.

In addition to teachers from professional training institutions and educational organizations working part-time at the Hongru Night School, Jiang encourages individuals with specific skills to share their expertise.

"For example, if a student has been honing his or her skills in a particular field for many years and has valuable insights, we encourage the student to open up a class and share this knowledge. This not only provides an opportunity to learn, but also a chance to make like-minded friends through sharing and discussion," Jiang said.

Fan Yechao, an associate professor at Minzu University of China's School of Ethnology and Sociology in Beijing, said night schools offer specialized spaces and professional equipment, creating a social space for city residents who share similar interests. This, in turn, promotes the formation of new interest groups.

"Although online interest communities are popular, they cannot replace the emotional satisfaction of face-to-face interaction. People still crave in-person deep communication with like-minded individuals," Fan said.

Choice available

Office workers are not the only ones seeking self-improvement at night schools.

Wu, who joined the makeup class in Beijing, said one of her classmates is a mother who knew nothing about makeup before enrolling in the course.

The mother decided to take the lessons after her child praised her appearance when she wore makeup to attend a parent-teacher meeting.

Wu said: "My classmate hoped to show a more energetic side of herself, so she decided to learn makeup. She is very serious about it.

"I thought that those learning makeup skills would mainly be young office workers, but many of them are mothers. That impressed me a lot."

Students can enroll for different types of night schools. The first type has been established through coordination with local governments, community organizations, village committees, and training institutions.

However, Yang, founder of the night school in Beijing, said these institutions with official backgrounds, such as cultural activity centers, are limited in number, have relatively fixed class times, and cannot meet young people's diverse needs.

This has resulted in the emergence of another type of night school run by individuals or teams, who act as intermediaries by connecting students with institutions, and earn a proportion of the enrollment fee. These schools are major players in the market.

Wang said, "These new night schools are currently thriving, but are still in the early stages of development.

"Everyone is exploring uncharted territory in the hope of establishing a comprehensive and smooth operational system that covers courses, pricing, faculty, and after-sales support to foster positive growth and attract and retain young learners' enthusiasm."

Jiang, from Nanchang, said operational challenges are increasing as the number of night school students continues to rise.

"Only when this trend passes can high-quality night schools with unified standards be better sustained," he said.