Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China, has been building itself into a child-friendly city since the Friendly Cities Initiative was written into the country's Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021.
In Hohhot's Saihan District Experimental Kindergarten, all facilities are built based on a “one-meter-high viewing angle,” which is the angle of kids.
In addition, the school introduced innovative teaching modules that will be decided by students and teachers together, and have been inviting children to help distribute meal with carts and spoons that fit their size, and design their own safety signs, slogans, and mascots.
Outside the school, Hohhot also provides varied sites and venues for children to learn and play.
At the Laoniu children's discovery museum, children are welcomed to explore society and the world, while parents are also invited to learn how to guide and communicate with their kids.
"We are offering two leaflets, one for children and one for parents. We encourage parents to participate more to guide kids on how to play and experience. So, the discovery museum is not only to accompany kids to grow, but also expecting parents to learn," said Wang Kun, a teacher at the discovery museum.
These are all parts of the city's efforts to build a child-friendly city, and to better understand children's world and listen to their voices.
"We have established a mechanism that involves over 30 departments, aiming to make the city's decision-makers practice the child-friendly concept, and incorporate the concept into the daily work of all departments and all aspects of society. By upgrading medical and health care, education, children's rights protection services, and more, the government has been ensuring kids grow up in good health, confidence, and happiness," said Ider, director of the Hohhot Development and Reform Commission.
And this is only a part of the nation-wide endeavor to offer inclusive childcare service. And currently, China has over 100,000 childcare agencies, being able to enroll around 4.8 million children.
Hohhot builds child-friendly city with innovative learning spaces
The second round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States concluded in Geneva on Tuesday, with new talks to be scheduled.
The negotiations, held at Oman's embassy in the Swiss city, were mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi.
U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner represented Washington in the negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi led a "diplomatic and specialized" delegation to the talks.
Albusaidi said on social media platform X that Tuesday's talks concluded with "good progress" towards identifying common goals and relevant technical issues. He added that "much work is yet to be done, and the parties left with clear next steps before the next meeting."
Araghchi told Iranian media after the talks that the talks were held in a more "constructive" atmosphere compared to the previous round in Oman.
"Different ideas were proposed and seriously discussed, and, eventually, we managed to reach a general agreement on a series of guiding principles, based on which we will henceforth move on and enter the text of a possible agreement," he said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that the current talks with the United States are being conducted under the coordination and approval of the Supreme Leader.
He said the purpose of negotiations with Washington is to resolve issues seriously, not to engage in dialogue for the sake of dialogue.
He added that Iran earnestly seeks tangible results and hopes the process will lead to concrete outcomes.
The U.S. said some details require further discussion, Axios cited a U.S. official as saying. Iran is expected to return with detailed proposals in the next two weeks.
Speaking at the Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament held in Geneva, Araghchi said that "a new window of opportunity has opened" after today's talks with the U.S.
He expressed hope that the negotiation will lead to a sustainable solution which can serve the interests of relevant parties and the broader region.
He also reiterated that Iran remains fully prepared to defend itself against any threats or act of aggression.
After the talks began, Iran announced a temporary closure in parts of the Strait of Hormuz to comply with safety and shipping principles in its live fire drill "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz."
After Trump returned to office in 2025 and revived a "maximum pressure" policy on Iran, five additional rounds of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran that year failed to bridge core differences. The first round of talks in Oman's Muscat on Feb. 6 this year was described by both sides as a "good start" but yielded no visible breakthrough.
2nd round of Iran-U.S. talks concludes, new talks to be scheduled
