Dad Shares Glimpse at Daughter’s School in China. The Internet Is Shocked to Learn She’s in School Until 8 P.M.

A father’s viral TikTok video showing his daughter’s long school day in China has sparked widespread discussion online — especially after viewers learned that her classes run until nearly 9 p.m.

In the clip, Ray, who lives in China, films himself picking up his daughter Cindy from school at 8:45 p.m. On their way home, the pair stop at a local convenience store for food before turning in for the night around 10 p.m.

“When I was a child, I also had school days that lasted 14 hours or longer,” Ray explains. “At that time, I thought it was completely normal — because that’s how it’s been in China for decades. But after my daughter entered middle school (7th grade), I began to realize how little time I actually get to spend with her.”

He recalls one evening that made him rethink the system entirely. “I suddenly realized there are only 24 hours in a day, and if 14 of them are spent at school, then a person basically has no freedom or personal time at all,” Ray says. “That’s just unreasonable. I thought others might feel the same way, so I made a short video about it.”

Ray’s video struck a chord, partly because it detailed Cindy’s intense daily schedule. “After arriving at school at 6:50 a.m., students first have a morning reading class to recite Chinese and English texts,” he explains. “Then they have four main classes — usually Chinese, English, Math, and Science — each lasting 45 minutes, with a 10-minute break in between.”

Following their morning lessons, students are required to do physical exercise — Cindy runs a full kilometer. After lunch, they take an hour-long nap before attending five more core classes in the afternoon. Lighter subjects such as physical education, music, and art happen only twice a week and are often replaced by main subjects as exams approach.

“After dinner at school, there are three evening study sessions mainly for homework,” Ray adds. “But most kids can’t finish it all there, so after coming home around 8:30 p.m., they continue studying.” Cindy typically spends another 30 minutes on homework before getting ready for bed, usually sleeping between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. before waking up at 6 a.m.

Ray contrasts this with the typical American school day, which generally runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “In China, primary and secondary education is exam-oriented. The main goal is to achieve a high score on the college entrance exam to get into a good university,” he says. “People believe that once you do that, you’ll get a good job and have a happy life. But that’s not always true. In the United States, education focuses more on developing well-rounded, independent thinkers who can realize their own potential.”

The unexpected popularity of Ray’s post has been heartwarming for him and his family. “I really didn’t expect my short video to get so many views,” he says. “Everyone seems to care about Cindy and really likes her. Many younger followers said that she inspired them to study harder. Cindy loves reading the comments with me — she’s very happy about it. She even said she wants to improve her English. It’s been a win-win for us, and I’m very glad about that.”