Lu Jing, a professor at the Communication University of China, and a former broadcaster, says: "Such reading demonstrations allow us to fully appreciate the vividness of Chinese language and culture."

Yao Xishuang, the executive deputy director of the Caring for the Next Generation Committee of the Ministry of Education, and a state superintendent, says that while traditional Chinese teaching focuses more on writing, there is less importance given to expression, and the project aims to balance both objectives simultaneously.

Meanwhile, an official report says that the penetration rate of Mandarin is not the same in East and West China, or in urban and rural areas.

So, while more than 90 percent of people living in large cities speak Mandarin, only about 40 percent of people in the countryside and minority regions do so.

And, in some ethnic minority communities, the penetration rate is less than 20 percent.

Mi Yaniu, a broadcaster who used to be a primary school teacher, says that Chinese language teaching at the grassroots level is particularly dependent on reading aloud.

"So, if Chinese language teachers in rural areas are not able to do this (speak standard Mandarin and read aloud properly), neither will the children."

Yu Ying, the principal of Songlin Primary School in Fuzhou, in East China's Jiangxi province, says that the audio files are a great help for rural teachers and their students.

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