In Depth: The Grueling Fight to Get China’s Depressed Teens Back to School
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Students getting help at the Youth Growth Support Center in Hangzhou’s Linping district go on a field trip. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee
This marks the third year since Xuan Xia, a student from Nanning in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was diagnosed with depression, and her second year out of school.
Starting in the seventh grade, nasty rumors and bullying caused bad feelings to quietly compound, leading to somatic symptoms and self-harm. By the second semester of 10th grade, Xuan left school and returned home. She made several attempts to resume her studies, but they all failed.
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What Happened When
- 2006：
- He Fan, a child psychiatrist at Beijing Anding Hospital, observed that most children seeking treatment were dealing with biologically driven psychiatric conditions like childhood schizophrenia.
- 2016 to 2021：
- Xi Xi spent five joyful years at a primary school that prioritized holistic growth.
- Since 2018：
- Xu Kaiwen's agency has provided around 50,000 counseling sessions over eight years.
- 2020：
- Xuan Xia entered middle school, excelled academically, but began experiencing bullying and rumors from peers. Starting in the seventh grade.
- 2021：
- Xi Xi entered middle school, grades plunged from 80s and 90s to 60s, and developed severe physical symptoms including unexplained shortness of breath. The age-standardized prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Chinese children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 was 8.9% (based on 2025 study data for 2021).
- 2023：
- Xuan Xia graduated from middle school. The Rainbow Bridge project in Hangzhou's Linping district was launched.
- April 2024：
- Xuan Xia left school and returned home due to somatic symptoms and self-harm by the second semester of 10th grade. Xi Xi's daughter stopped attending school entirely after a phase of sporadic attendance.
- 2024：
- A survey by Ferry and the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that among families of children diagnosed with depression, 82.3% of youths had a history of taking sick leave, 53.9% took extended leave, with average age for first withdrawal at 13.7. Li Yu's daughter Qingqing was diagnosed with severe depression in seventh grade. Initial recruitment for the Rainbow Bridge project in Hangzhou was slow. A multi-agency coalition launched a public initiative in Shenzhen.
- June 2025：
- Students from the Banxiao Learning Community participated in an entrepreneurship group selling beef noodles in a park in Xi'an (photo date).
- 2025：
- Xuan Xia was diagnosed with depression (third year since diagnosis). A study in The Lancet Regional Health — Western Pacific published data on psychiatric disorders among Chinese children. Xuan moved to Luting Cabin in Hangzhou in November. The Rainbow Bridge project in Hangzhou saw a shift when local education bureaus allowed schools to formally distribute recruitment materials. In Shenzhen, a district ran basic parental training camps, raising school-return rate from 30% to 50%.
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