In a unique educational scenario that has captured the attention of netizens, the Hubin North Road Primary School located in the eastern province of Shandong, China, has proudly introduced 12 sets of twins into their fresh batch of Primary One students this academic year.
The video report, featured on btime.com, highlighted that out of the total pairs, five were composed entirely of girls, with the remaining seven being boy duos. Clips circulating on various social media platforms, displaying these twins walking hand-in-hand in harmonized lines, have enthralled users, igniting discussions about the incredible instance of identical siblings.
One such delightful moment from the video showcased a twin named Meng Yunzhe introducing himself and expressing his fondness for reading and drawing. Not lagging behind, his twin brother, Meng Yunkai, echoed the introduction but emphasized his unique interests, which included climbing and handicrafts.
In what might seem like a surprising move to some, the school’s administration decided to place all twins in the same class. Their reasoning was manifold: it would assist the teachers in familiarizing themselves with each twin’s unique characteristics and discerning the most effective teaching strategies tailored to them. Furthermore, this strategy promised to simplify the process for parents during the end-of-day pickups.
Gao Rui, a mother to one of the twin girl pairs, shared her proactive approach to help differentiate her identical daughters in the new setting. She said, “I’ve attached name stickers to their outfits, water bottles, and backpacks, ensuring that their peers and teachers can identify them swiftly. My hope is that this will aid in their transition into the new class and assist them in forming new friendships.”
Tang Xiaolu, an educator at Hubin North Road Primary School, mentioned her commitment to distinguishing between each twin by minutiae in their appearances or mannerisms. Tang said, “Interactions with parents will be instrumental in gaining insights about the twin students. Our goal is to facilitate their smooth transition into primary school life.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the school’s inaugural experience with a significant number of twin enrollees. Past records indicate that they welcomed 12 twin pairs in 2020 and an even higher count of 13 sets in 2021.
Dr. Amy Wang, a family physician based in Hong Kong, elaborated on the phenomenon of twin births. Globally, she mentioned, the likelihood of a couple giving birth to twins hovers between 0.5% and 4%. However, contemporary data from the US National Centre for Biotechnology Information suggests a noticeable rise in twin births in recent years.
Such stories, highlighting elevated twin birth rates, are no strangers to virality on China’s online platforms. For instance, an account of a family in Henan province, which boasted four sets of twins spanning three generations, seized attention earlier this year. Furthermore, a unique “twins village” in Sichuan province, with an impressive count of 33 twin pairs born into a community of 631 families, made waves across digital platforms the previous year.
These intriguing narratives offer a fascinating glimpse into the phenomenon of twin births in China and underscore the cultural and educational adaptations necessitated by such occurrences.\
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