Sweaty rides

As a man in the banking industry, Wang has to wear a formal white shirt and black pants to go to work in the burning Beijing summer. Every morning he has to squeeze himself carefully in a congested bus and endure the sweat of the crowds. If he's lucky, he can get a spot close to the windows, where he can look at the view of this rapidly developing city. The bus flank a dirt road that has many empty buildings still being built, while the blank silver billboards on the side reflects the sky, advertising nothing but early July sunlight.

"When I take the bus in the morning, I love to see what others are doing," Wang said. "I remember many years ago in Beijing, people on the bus were always carrying something to read, a book or a piece of newspaper. But now, many people are sleeping on the bus, and they look as tired as I am. I don't want my child to be someone like me, tired and exhausted."

"China is transitioning from an agricultural society to an industrial society, but at the same time, stepping into a stressful society," said Li Lulu, a sociology professor at Renmin University. "In today's transitional society, wealth is the only criteria to measure success. This makes people anxious to achieve quick success and get instant benefits, thus for many parents, a better kindergarten education is an early start that could help their children to win at the starting line."