A queue of 140 people, with tents, camp beds and benches, has been waiting round-the-clock on Beijing's Xihuan Road for more than a week.

They are not die-hard fans trying to get show tickets. They are parents and grandparents queuing for their children's admission to the state-run Changping District Industry Kindergarten.

"Despite days of waiting, only half of the children will be admitted," says parent Li Xiaohua, echoing the frustration of millions of Chinese parents struggling to find a kindergarten for their children.

A queue of 140 people, with tents, camp beds and benches, has been waiting round-the-clock on Beijing's Xihuan Road for more than a week.

Keen competition

A man surnamed Liu is waiting anxiously at the gate of state-run Maliandao Kindergarten in Beijing's Xuanwu District. His child will have to compete with more than 600 others for the kindergarten's 130 places.

After reviewing the children's identity documents, the teachers will interview them.

Liu says he and other parents have been preparing their pre-schoolers for months for the interviews. "It is only an ordinary, little-known kindergarten. We haven't chosen a famous one. Why is it so hard?"

In a queue outside the No. 13 Kindergarten in Nankai District, Tianjin, young mother Li Yuxia has begun trying to book a kindergarten place for her 2-year-old daughter, Qing Qing -- so far without success.

"How's this possible? I'm booking more than 2 years in advance and they still say there is no place."

More than 500 children applied for the No.1 Kindergarten of Nankai District this year, but only 90 were admitted.

Each of the six urban districts of Tianjin has only 20 to 30 state-run kindergartens, far from enough to meet demand, says an official surnamed Ling with the Nankai District's education bureau.

In Beijing, the number of kindergartens has dropped from 3,056 in 1996 to the current 1,266, according to the Municipal Commission of Education.

The city, with a population of more than 17 million, has only 383 quality kindergartens.

The problem goes back to 2000, when the government reformed pre-school education, requiring many kindergartens to become commercial businesses.

The number of kindergartens run by state-owned enterprises and government organs has dropped from 16,000 in 2000 to just 5,000 in 2007.

In addition, children born in 2007, a particularly auspicious year in the Chinese calendar, and 2008, year of the Beijing Olympics, are reaching kindergarten age. Birth rates in the two years hiked in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities in China.

Burden on young parents

Tuition at a state-run kindergarten in Beijing generally costs 10,000 yuan a year, but it is actually only a part of the true expense.

State-run kindergartens usually require a "research donation" of another10,000 yuan a year, and parents must sign a statement saying the donation was voluntary, says one Beijing parent, "so a kindergarten actually charges about 20,000 yuan a year."

In Tianjin's Nankai District, tuition fees are about 1,700 yuan a month, while the city's per capita monthly disposable income is 1,786 yuan.

"For young parents with low incomes and mortgages, the fees are a stressful burden," says Liu Wenfeng, the kindergarten head.

The number of private kindergartens is small and many come from the two extremes -- expensive premium or cheap low-quality kindergartens.

"Private kindergartens are not financed by the government and depend on the tuition fees to survive. Most parents cannot afford premium private kindergartens and they worry about the quality of the cheap ones," says Cao Hua, head of Ozkids private kindergarten in Tianjin.

A teacher surnamed Guo says Baston Bilingual Kindergarten in Beijing charges about 7,000 yuan per month, not including fees for "interest classes" such as skating, dancing and fine arts.

Xiao Yulan, who was head of a state-run kindergarten before taking over at the privately-owned Huaying Xingchen Kindergarten, admits, "In general, private kindergartens are no match for state-run ones in teaching quality and facilities. Even with lower prices, they are rarely a parent's first choice."

In rural areas of Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and other cities, migrant workers and needy families are sending their children to poor quality or unlicensed, illegal kindergartens.