THE school is located in Daxing district on the southern outskirts of Beijing. Colorful paintings of flowers decorate the outer walls of what used to be a factory building. Some 600 students of the Pu-Gong-Ying (Dandelion) mid-level school were about to take part in morning gymnastics before class when Tempo came for a visit.

Dandelion is not an ordinary school. Its students are children of migrant workers in the Chinese capital. Tuition is free