Reading 6,000 words or memorizing a classical Chinese poem in just one minute, mastering a semester’s worth of English vocabulary in five days, or even reading with your eyes covered — these are the extraordinary abilities that some brain development institutions in China claim children can acquire through so-called “whole-brain training.”

According to company data platform Qichacha, nearly 2,000 companies offering whole-brain training services are registered in China. One of the largest, Qitian Sunshine, founded in 2011, claims to be the country’s first professional whole-brain training institution and operates hundreds of outlets across the country. It offers a systematic curriculum that includes various cognitive games for children aged 0 to 14.

Most of these institutions claim their programs work by stimulating both the left and right hemispheres of the brain simultaneously. Their promotional materials often emphasize enhancing children’s overall abilities, including concentration, spatial imagination, associative memory, and verbal expression.

Online, the idea that “the left brain is ordinary, the right brain is genius” is widely circulated, promoting the belief — particularly among some parents — that early right-brain development is essential.

One of the most common training methods involves flashcard-based memorization. Domestic media reports that one technique involves instructors rapidly flipping through flashcards and reading their content aloud to children at a speed of two to three cards per second.

“This helps children reinforce recognition, strengthen memory, and improve their ability to process information at high speed,” one program operator told domestic media. Classes cost around 200 yuan ($28) on average.

Besides flashcards, other commonly used techniques include memory card games, puzzles, word-building exercises, and abacus training.

On social media, some parents have praised these strategies for improving their children’s focus, creativity, and imagination in the long term. Some also see them as more “international,” emphasizing holistic methods over grade-oriented and rote learning. However, many others have criticized the programs as pseudoscientific and accused the companies of making exaggerated claims.

Some institutions have taken things even further, promoting concepts like “brain screens” — a so-called mental visualization technique similar to photographic memory that allegedly allows children to “see” text or ideas projected in their minds. In promotional videos online, one center claimed a child “activated their brain screen at age 7 and could read 10 books a day.”

One such course is priced at 19,800 yuan, though the school plans to hike the fee to 39,800 yuan after August as a way to encourage early enrollment, according to the domestic media report.

Another center goes as far as to assert that once the “brain screen” is activated, “students can see their exam results in advance and adjust their future performance accordingly.”

“It’s about stimulating the pineal gland through music-guided training,” the school continues in its promotional material. “The younger the child, the better the results. The success rate is over 98%.” To unlock this “time travel” skill, it adds, children need only to take five online lessons priced at 800 yuan each.

Unsurprisingly, the credibility and qualifications behind such courses are being questioned. A former employee at a brain training center revealed that they did not require any formal certification or educational background to work there.

Speaking to domestic outlet Legal Daily, Chen Jing, a youth psychological counselor based in Beijing, said, “The pineal gland primarily regulates biological rhythms; it has nothing to do with perception. The concept of whole-brain development is vague and lacks a clear definition at present, but based on existing scientific evidence, we can say with certainty that brain development does not involve ‘opening the third eye.’”

Earlier in 2019, similar early education programs sparked nationwide debate, particularly those promoting “quantum speed reading,” which claimed children could be taught to read 100,000 characters in just five minutes. In response, the State Council issued a regulatory notice addressing multiple institutions conducting quantum reading or whole-brain training without proper licenses. This month, the government enacted the first law governing preschool education, setting strict qualification standards for preschool teachers and promising severe punishments for those who fail to comply with the rules.

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: Visuals from VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)