Many surveyed parents comment on cost effectiveness, as ever-fiercer competition buoys tuition costs. Parents sometimes line up for days to get their kids a spot in top schools. There's even an industry in which they hire someone to stand in line for them.

China's elite schools cost hundreds of thousands of yuan (tens of thousands of dollars) a year - even for kindergarten.

On top of sky-high tuitions come concerns about rankings, commutes and quality.

"Schooling has remained the primary concern and greatest hardship for our family since our 15-year-old daughter was born," 42-year old Beijing sales manager Huang Bing says.

Many parents who home-school their children believe the extremes surrounding China's education are largely hype.

Ye Aiwen recalls feeling delighted upon seeing the facilities at the Tianjin kindergarten in which she enrolled her then 3-year-old daughter in 2011. But the 36-year-old pulled the girl out to home-school her a year ago, after she discovered many of the facilities were "fake" and children weren't allowed to use most of them.

"It was one of Tianjin's best-equipped kindergartens, and it looked very nice," she recalls.

Ye's daughter Li Shangrong told her that, rather than play and have fun, the kids were mostly kept inside to listen to stories or learn songs.

"The teacher explained they're concerned about safety. So they don't let the kids use the swings, for instance, because they might fall off," Ye says. "I want my girl to enjoy a colorful childhood. She wasn't happy at school."