China’s abandoned children: Shanghai orphanage shows how far care has come, but adoption still a dream for many
- A 1995 British documentary brought the plight of Chinese orphans to the world’s attention
- Post Magazine visits the Shanghai Children’s Welfare Institute to see how the level of care and the youngsters’ needs have changed
The Shanghai Children’s Welfare Institute, the only orphanage in this city of 24 million inhabitants, is a fortress. Covering 63,000 square metres, the institution is one of China’s largest, but only a single gate breaks the high perimeter wall, which is crowned with video cameras.
Guards turn away those curious about the beautiful gardens full of playing children that can be glimpsed through the gate. Few visitors are allowed inside, and those who enter do so only on strictly supervised tours.
China is a different country today, however, and in an effort to demonstrate how well its abandoned young are now cared for, the Shanghai orphanage’s director, Cai Xuanxuan, has agreed to lead Post Magazine on an exclusive tour of the facilities under her management.
No restrictions are imposed, although the Civil Affairs Bureau considers abandoned children a sensitive issue, so one of its officials tags along, at least for the morning. He leaves after lunch, however, and we are free to go wherever we wish.
The compound’s dozen imposing buildings house about 1,000 minors. Each hopes a family will one day arrive to adopt them, and the constant roar of planes departing from nearby Hongqiao International Airport fans those dreams. The reality, though, is that most will never be taken into the bosom of a loving family.
