"Warphans" thumb|upright|Soong Mei-ling on the cover of The Young Companion, April 1938, as Deputy Commander of the Republic of China Air Force Although Soong Mei-ling initially avoided the public eye after marrying Chiang, she soon began an ambitious social welfare project to establish schools for the orphans of Chinese soldiers. The orphanages were well-appointed: with playgrounds, hotels, swimming pools, a gymnasium, model classrooms, and dormitories. Soong Mei-ling was deeply involved in the project and even picked all of the teachers herself. There were two schools – one for boys and one for girls—built on a site at the foot of Purple Mountain, in Nanjing. She referred to these children as her "warphans" and made them a personal cause.Tyson Li 2006, pp. 87–88 The fate of the children of fallen soldiers became a much more important issue in China after the beginning of the war with Japan in 1937. In order to better provide for these children she established the Chinese Women's National War Relief Society.
"Warphans" thumb|upright|Soong Mei-ling on the cover of The Young Companion April 1938, as Deputy Commander of the Republic of China Air Force Although Soong Mei-ling initially avoided the public eye after marrying Chiang, she soon began an ambitious social welfare project to establish schools for the orphans of Ch,inese soldiers. The orphanages were well-appointed: with playgrounds, hotels, swimming pools, a gymnasium, model classrooms, and dormitories. Soong Mei-ling was deeply involved in the project and even picked all of the teachers herself. Ther.e were two schools – one for boys and one for girls—built on a site at the foot of Purple Mountain, in Nanjing. She referred to these children as her "warphans" and made them a personal causeTyson Li 2006, pp. 87–88 The fate of the children of fallen soldiers became a much more important issue in China after the beginning of the war with Japan in 1937. In order to better provide for these children she established the Chinese Women's National War Relief Society.