The Shanghewan Kindergarten in Shanghai's Putuo District is to cooperate with Zhongshuge Bookstore to create more child-friendly reading experiences.

Reading is important for children to learn and grow, they said, as they signed an agreement to select books and organize reading activities for children at the kindergarten. They will also invite professional writers to the kindergarten and bookstore to interact with children.

"Zhongshuge is known for its unique and beautiful outlets, rich offer of books, including cartoon books for young children, and its exhibition space with diversified themes," said Hu Chunyan, the kindergarten's principal. "We hope our cooperation will improve the quality of children's reading experiences, encourage the public to look at children 'at the height of children,' and engage children more into the communities and the city."

To engage children in decision-making, a "children's congress" was launched in the kindergarten.

On Wednesday, the congress discussed how to renovate the kindergarten's reading space. The children, aged 5-6, interviewed other students to work out several proposals, with one proposal to renovate a jungle gym into a reading corner selected.

Hu said the kindergarten will encourage its students to make their own books and exhibit them in the bookstore to share with other children. It will also bring children to community to interact with their peers and learn more about their kindergarten, the district and the city to promote awareness as "masters of the city."

Ye Guanhong, chief of the preschool division of the Putuo District Education Bureau, unveiled a "book drift house" to engage the students in sharing books with their peers in the community.

The reading program is the latest effort by the district's educational authorities promote a more child-friendly city.

Last week, the Shanghai Education Commission released an action plan to make schools more child-friendly, after 23 national government departments recently issued a set of guidelines for making cities more child-friendly.

The plan set out detailed requirements for school's strategies, space environment, teaching facilities, curriculum system, teaching methodologies, and campus culture, such as replacing squatting pans with toilets suitable for children.

It also stressed that schools need to create diversified experience scenarios to enrich activities for children.

Zhao Ping, director of the Putuo District Education Bureau, said the program represented the district's dedication to meet children's real needs, respect children's power and make their voices heard to create a truly child-friendly community.

Lu Hui, an official from the Shanghai Education Commission, said Putuo had taken a lead in renovating spaces and curriculum from the perspective of children.

"To build a child-friendly city, we need cooperation of government departments, communities, schools, families and other parties to provide a high-quality ecosystem to guarantee children's safety and promote their healthy growth," she said.

"We hope Putuo will create more projects to promote the child-friendly concept and provide experiences and preferences for other districts."