At the age of 12, Zhuzhu seems to have everything a child could dream of — plenty of toys, beautiful clothes and even a piano.

Zhuzhu, however, has little time to play, thanks to a mountain of homework to do.

Like most other Chinese children her age, Zhuzhu has to go to school from Monday to Friday, nine hours a day — an hour more than her parents spend at work. At the weekend, her parents can get up late — Zhuzhu, however, isn’t so lucky.

She has to get up early for piano lessons on Saturday and Sunday mornings, followed by Maths and English classes in the afternoons. As a reward for her hard work, Zhuzhu’s parents let her play with her toys for one hour on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Zhuzhu is not alone. According to a new survey* conducted by the Chinese Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC), increasing numbers of children in large cities across the country are experiencing joyless childhood.

The CYCRC surveyed 2,500 primary and secondary school students in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changchun, Chengdu and Lanzhou. The results of the survey reveal how, due to long school hours and growing pressure from parents to study hard, children are feeling increasingly unhappy about their lack of playtime.

On average, China’s children spend 8.6 hours a day at school, with some spending 12 hours a day in the classroom. The survey also claimed that the majority* of children spend longer hours at school than their parents spend at work.

Almost all of the students polled* in the survey said they had to do homework and prepare for classes after school. Around half of the students’ parents said that they often don’t allow them to play outside as it means less time to study.

The CYCRC survey also reveals that when they do have spare time for play, many children are either too tired or have nobody to play with — only 4 in 10 of the survey’s participants* claim they have friends to play with.

Indeed, Sun Yunxiao, director of the CYCRC, noted that heavy study loads have exhausted* children. More than half of the survey’s participants said what they want most is “a good night’s sleep.”

Chinese students are put under ever-increasing pressure by their parents to study hard due to the country’s highly competitive market for university places and jobs. Study pressure has led to an increase in stress*, psychological* problems and even tragedy.

Last June, a 16 year-old girl from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, committed suicide* after failing to pass the entrance exam for a respected senior high school.

As for Zhuzhu, her mother, An Hui, knows full well that her daughter doesn’t get enough sleep or playtime. “We have no other choice,” she said. “If she gives up now and doesn’t study hard, she will regret it as her future will be lost.”

“This is the reality of China,” An said.

(SD-Agencies)