On July 22, a sudden internal notice from schools in Beijing required teachers and students to return to school by mid-August and not leave the city after August 20. This change was made to avoid delaying the start of the school year due to the September 3 military parade, causing concern and discussion among teachers and parents. Authorities are gathering students returning to Beijing from various places to facilitate better management and stability.
In the past, the Beidaihe Conference of the Communist Party of China usually takes place between late July and mid-August each year. This year, during the Beidaihe Conference period, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War on September 3, nearby schools were already notified of the delayed start of the school year. Now, sudden internal notices from schools in various districts of Beijing have sparked the attention of teachers and parents.
A teacher in Daxing District received a notice requiring teachers to return to Beijing before August 15 and students by August 21, with reporting requirements for foreign relatives arriving in Beijing. Middle school teachers in Dongcheng District also confirmed being notified to return on that day.
Parents in the Yizhuang area of Daxing said they were informed that students must return to Beijing before August 20. Parents who have not received the notice expressed confusion, saying, “Was this notice recent? During holidays, it wasn’t mentioned that it would be on the 20th.”
A parent from Xicheng District confirmed receiving a school notice to return to Beijing on August 18, as preparations for the September 3 military parade need to start half a month in advance. Those planning to travel to Beijing are advised to do so early or reschedule for October when the climate is more suitable.
In addition to the return time requirements, a parent of a first-grade student in Dongcheng District mentioned that the school explicitly stated that children should not leave Beijing after August 20, as first-grade students in the district are undergoing collective entrance training this year.
Some parents were surprised, commenting, “I thought only students preparing for the transition to the third year of junior high and the third year of high school needed to catch up on lessons. I didn’t expect this for elementary schools too.”
Other parents also confirmed receiving the same notice but expressed their disagreement with the regulations. One parent discontentedly said, “We had already decided to take our children on a trip. Flight tickets are booked, what can we do if we don’t return?”
A Beijing resident who is neither a teacher nor a parent mentioned that their unit has prohibited leaving Beijing starting from August.
On the other hand, a teacher named Shen from Jing’an District in Shanghai revealed that they were advised against entering Beijing after August 20 due to the military parade. All major events were moved to the early or mid-August, including the World Robotics Conference.
Regarding the internal notice for schools in Beijing, writer Cai Shenkun analyzed that the change has two main reasons: first, to control the movement of students returning to various places to prevent any disruptions associated with the September 3 military parade. It is easier for authorities to control them when they are centralized. Second, it is for surveillance purposes to understand the students’ whereabouts during the holiday period and to uphold the school’s responsibility for monitoring any potential issues.
He further explained that major events in Beijing in the past have been subject to strict security measures a month in advance, with checkpoints set up and inspections conducted for those entering from places like Yanjiao in Hebei Province. This is a regular occurrence, but the current circumstances might require stricter control measures than before.
According to the official announcement on the 16th, the Beijing Municipal Government has designated nine districts including Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, and Haidian as “restricted airspace zones” from July 16 to 9 p.m. on September 3. Strict measures are in place to prohibit the flying of drones and other aircraft to prevent any disruptions to the airspace order.