More understanding

Feng Jia, a Chinese-language teacher at Fu Lei Middle School, cited the example of a girl in her class.

She read a letter handed in voluntarily by the girl, who wrote that her parents had hit her for the first time during a quarrel over whether her hobby of drawing had affected the time and effort she devoted to her studies.

"The words she used in the letter were emotional and hurtful," said Feng, who did not intervene in the issue and respected what the child wanted to tell her parents.

A few days later, when Feng discussed the letter with the girl, the pupil said she had given her parents another letter, because after she had vented her anger in the first one, she realized it would upset them.

After they read the second letter, the parents were more understanding toward their daughter, Feng said.

"This is the magic of the handwritten letter. It can calm people down and help dispel some negative emotions, highlighting the essence of family bonds that are ignored by most people in everyday conversation," she said.

Efforts are being made in more areas of society to revive the tradition of writing letters, in an attempt to share thoughts, love and gratitude with family members.

Last year, civil engineering students at Changsha University in Hunan province wrote letters to their parents as part of an activity to encourage the practice.

Li Yang, a student at the university, told Xinhua News Agency: "We study in a city far from home and parents, so we focus more on ourselves. I'm thankful for this activity in which I can show gratitude to my parents."