BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) — Over 94 percent of 2,003 respondents have learned a new skill as a lengthy stay at home owing to the coronavirus outbreak granted them more free time, according to a new survey conducted by China Youth Daily.

Among the new skills learned by the respondents, life skills such as cooking take up 65.8 percent, following by hobbies, accounting for 43.5 percent. Meanwhile, academic skills and vocational ones take up 36.1 percent and 29.2 percent, respectively.

Qi Xin works for a foreign company in Beijing and has studied painting in school. She took out her paintbrush and revisited her old hobby during this special period.

"Painting can relieve bad emotions and makes my life more enjoyable," she said.

Like Qi, about 65 percent of the respondents found their lives more fulfilling with new skills, and nearly 70 percent felt that the quality of their lives has been improved. 

(Source: Xinhua)