‍‍Chinese parents focus a lot of attention on their children’s education. Apart from the usual academic subjects, they believe that teaching children traditional Chinese values and cultivating virtue in early childhood are vitally important in preserving and passing down the family’s spirit and attainments. 

In China today, teenagers commonly study Chinese and English, maths and science, as well as, perhaps, a musical instrument. But there are exceptions. Li Dongjun is one. Encouraged by his mother, he goes to a private school in Beijing, where he is educated in the Confucian classics. He is well versed in ancient Chinese texts, and under his teacher’s guidance, he is now studying traditional Chinese medicine and practising Chinese calligraphy. His mother is convinced that her son will reap rich rewards from his very special education. ‍

In Dabu County, Guangdong Province, Wei Dingguo and his son Wei Zhongjie are famous figures. Why? It goes back to the 1980s, when the father started to grow and produce tea as a business. Hard work has borne rich fruit, and now he is chairman of Xiyan Tea Group. Wei Zhongjie, after several years spent studying in America, has returned to help his father. To the relief of Wei Dingguo, his son is fully committed to the future of the family business.

In the village of Dazhang, in Anhui Province, lives an old man named Zhang Dading. Having served as village head, he became the Zhang family’s genealogist after his retirement in 2004. Working together, he and several other elderly members of the extended family have succeeded in updating their family’s genealogical record. Zhang Dading is proud that he has helped to pass on the Zhang legacy. And now, other families in the village have persuaded him to update their own genealogies.

Rediscovering China is a feature programme broadcast every weekend on CGTN. Each 30-minute edition offers a unique insight, through the eyes of our team of international journalists, into an aspect of life in China today.

With its unrivalled access to the country's people and places, Rediscovering China brings you in-depth reports on the major issues facing China at a time of rapid change.