好媳妇培训班 传播家庭美德

Gangdong community belongs to the Laoshan district of Qingdao city. It is famous for its "daughter-in-law training class", which has been held 45 consecutive years.

The curriculum has evolved from a simple description of village life to spreading family virtues and regulations and teaching social courtesies, how to educate youngsters, and various skills so married women can make a living.

In the last three years, about 200 women have graduated from the daughter-in-law training class, earning a primary vocational certificate. And more than half of them have started their own businesses as a result of this training course.

It's 10 o'clock in the morning, and a meeting on the reconstruction plans of the local pier is being held in the community conference room.

A detailed blueprint of the pier, matching the national 3A level standards, is mapped out, with facilities such as restaurants, a leisure center, shops and accommodations.

Most of the participants at the meeting are women from Gangdong community.

Liu Xiannuo, the community director, tells them how to steer the wheel at home while running their businesses.

"Our village opens restaurants. It's mostly women who take these jobs. In the next daughter-in-law training class, they will be informed and mobilized to take part in such activities. This is a main theme around which we plan latest activities."

The daughter-in-law training class Liu refers to is well regarded in the village and the surrounding region. Liu Xiufeng, the planning director of the Gangdong community, talks about why the class was assembled in the first place about 50 years ago.

"Men in Gangdong village went out to the sea most days a year, so the women had to shoulder the burden of work at home. Local officials realized the heavy duties that daughters-in-law were expected to bear and the urgency of providing help to them. That's when the first class was held in 1967. Originally, daughters-in-laws just got together to exchange information. Later on, they actually learned something, and their mothers-in-law also attended the classes. It has now become a ritual in the village."

Liu Fenxiang, a graduate of the 1989 class, has been running all the household errands and looking after elderly family members by herself. As her husband is a fisherman, he is away from home most days. Liu has been the rock of the family. She believes taking the daughter-in-law classes has helped her muster the courage and wisdom to handle the situation.

"We learned about honoring our in-laws, maintaining a good relationship with our significant other, and interacting with the neighbors. I learned a lot from it."

Over time, the curriculum has been enriched accordingly. Now social manners and courtesies, the education of youngsters, health-related knowledge and other subjects are included in the classes.

Gangdong's future development plans include more environmental and sustainable projects in which the daughters-in-law will surely take part. A new direction in policy means new possibilities and opportunities for the people of Gangdong, Qingdao.

For CRI, I'm Li Ningjing.