From AI night schools springing up across the country to training tailored for specific industries, China is working to put artificial intelligence skills into the hands of ordinary people, so that advanced technology can better serve the real economy. The goal is clear: to turn an abstract technology into a capability anyone can use.
AI night schools everywhere
In Nantong, Jiangsu province, a free AI night school called Oasis Spark opened its doors, and one of its courses combining AI with home textiles drew nearly 20,000 participants. Beijing's Tongzhou district held four sessions covering office applications, home textiles, healthcare, and technology and education, while in Nanning, Guangxi, public-interest AI night schools and skills contests have also got under way.
For many learners, the shift in mindset comes quickly. A participant surnamed Zhang said she used to think AI had a high barrier to entry and was a tool for professionals, but after taking the course she realized ordinary people can master it easily, and now she can use it to draft plans and write copy.
Policy and real money
The push from the top is just as strong. In August 2025, the State Council issued guidelines on an AI-plus initiative, and in April 2026 the Ministry of Education set out a framework aiming for universal AI literacy by 2030. Beijing, Guangdong and Liaoning have already woven AI into primary and secondary school curricula.
Localities are also putting real money on the table. Shanghai has added AI trainers to its vocational programs and raised subsidies by about 30 percent, Yangzhou offers up to 200,000 yuan in training subsidies along with computing-power vouchers, and Suzhou has built a 30-minute vocational skills training circle to keep learning within easy reach.
Connecting technology and industry
These government-led night schools act as a bridge between technology providers and traditional industries. Wang Hao, a manager at Nantong Minxing Software, said startups often lack channels and resources, and that the AI night school organized by the government allows them to engage directly with enterprises and deliver targeted technical services, a form of empowerment that is especially valuable to them.
Running alongside the skills training is the deployment of embodied AI. At a store in Shanghai, a humanoid robot is being trained to handle tasks such as fetching goods and tidying up in a real retail setting. From people to machines, artificial intelligence is entering real production and daily life along different paths.
A trillion-yuan picture
Behind it all is a rapidly expanding industry. In 2025, China's core AI industry reached about 1.2 trillion yuan, roughly 178 billion US dollars, across some 6,000 enterprises. Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, has projected that during the 15th Five-Year Plan, from 2026 to 2030, the broader AI ecosystem could reach 10 trillion yuan.
From the lights of the night schools to the machines on the factory floor, China is trying to make AI no longer the preserve of a few, but a tool in the hands of more ordinary workers and businesses. Whether the technology truly turns into productivity will, in the end, depend on how widely it can be mastered and used.
