Best feet forward as students get back to school

More than 2 million students kicked off the new semester at primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens in Shanghai on Monday.

Those at Jinshajiang Road Primary School in downtown Putuo District were welcomed by a brand-new playground made from recycled shoes.

The "gift" was the result of cooperation between the China Environmental Protection Foundation and footwear giant Nike, which encourages people to donate their old shoes, grinds them into recyclable rubber granules and uses them to build new school playgrounds.

Students were delighted to find the new playground, including a football pitch and basketball court.

"It looks more beautiful and cleaner than the former one, and caught my eyes immediately when I returned to the campus," said fourth grader Sun Jiajun. "I'm a member of our school's football club. So I think my skill will improve as I feel delighted to play on it."

Zhang Yuning, a fourth grader and a member of the school's girls football team, said she had already played on the pitch in the past few days.

"It's softer than the former one," she said. "There's no scree on it so I don't have to worry they will hop into my shoes and scratch my feet.

"Also I don't have to worry I would get bruised if I fall onto the ground. Even if I fall, it won't hurt as there's thick grass. I will definitely love football more."

Many students said they were proud that part of the field was made from their shoes and were enthusiastic about donating more shoes in the future.

Li Haijun, the school principal, said the pitch was very important for the school, a cradle for female football players in China.

"Since our first girls' football team was set up in 1993, we've renovated our football field many times, from the earliest made of coal cinders to plastic, to the current one with recycled shoes," he said.

"I think the new one will better protect our players as it added a 20-centimeter buffer layer," he said. "Meanwhile, the football and basketball courts features better elasticity, which will help the students perform better in exercise and attract them to more actively participate in sports."

Li said it was a win-win project for the environment and the children.

"It has not only provided a safe facility for children to do sports, but also contributed to the protection of environment and enhanced children's awareness in recycling, which is in line with the country's efforts in reduction of carbon emissions," said Li.

He said the children and the project had promoted environmental concepts in their families and hopefully were building a social atmosphere for green living.

"We hope more people will join in the program to build more such fields for children to enjoy sports in a safe environment."

New schools

The city also saw new schools open on Monday, including 45 kindergartens and nurseries.

The China Welfare Institute Nursery's Putuo campus welcomed its first batch of 315 kids.

Children were guided through a morning health check, hand washing and greeting to start their very first campus day.

To help children with their unease when separated from their parents, the nursery made itself a playland, where they blew bubbles, read cartoon books, shot water guns and played games.