German-funded daycare center opens in Beijing

A German-funded daycare center opened in?Beijing over the weekend with a Halloween party to welcome visitors.

Klett Daycare, in northeast Beijing, will take children under three.

The center is jointly funded by the German Klett Group and New Star Press (owned by the China International Publishing Group).

The Klett Group has been an education publishing enterprise for 120 years, and the daycare center is the first the company has opened in China.

Entrusting children to a daycare center before they are old enough to go to kindergarten is never an easy task for young parents, especially in big cities, said Zhang Yanxia, who is in charge of the center.

Even in Germany, it took many years for the concept to be accepted, Zhang added.

The center has four foreign members of staff with extensive daycare experience in other countries. When fully up and running, it hopes to take in about 30 children this year during weekday opening hours from 8 am to 5 pm.

Chen Jiali, a 30-year-old mother who took her 14-month old daughter to the center, welcomed the daycare option.

"It's the first time I have taken my child to a daycare center. My daughter is slightly allergic to protein and can not eat eggs," she said.

"But it is a good option as I also need to go back to my career."

The daycare center charges annual fees of 100,000 yuan ($16,410), but they also offer short-stay services.