At eight years old, William Wang went to a top elementary school in Wuhan, China. Homework assignments started piling up in second grade.

By third grade, William was usually doing homework until midnight. 

In Chinese society, many people think of education as one of the most important parts of life. In a country of 1.4 billion people, not everyone can get into top colleges. Many Chinese students spend hours studying for exams. Parents spend much money hiring tutors. They are expected to make sure their children master every subject. Sometimes parents move their children to better schools in different cities.  

William’s father, DJ Wang, often traveled to Thailand for work. He decided to move his family there. 

Some other Chinese families are heading to Thailand too. It has good schools without so much pressure. Many move to the slow-paced city of Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Mai, students have time for hobbies. Eighth-grader Rodney Feng took up acoustic guitar and piano. He carries a notebook to write down new English vocabulary just because he wants to. After talking with one of his teachers about snakes, he is raising a pet ball python. He named it Banana.

William Wang will enter high school soon. He finishes his homework well before midnight. He also has developed hobbies outside of school.

“Here, if he gets a bad grade, I don’t think much of it. You just work on it,” says Mr. Wang. “Is it the case that if he gets a bad grade, that he will be unable to become a successful adult?”

Moving to Thailand changed Mr. Wang’s answer to that question. He says, “Now, I don’t think so.”

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. — Psalm 127:2