China's publishing giant Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG) received a thank-you letter from the Suzhou Institute of Education Science on March 16.

In the letter, the institute expressed its gratitude to the media group for lending its support during Suzhou’s recent COVID-19 outbreak which started on Feb 14.

Due to the outbreak, all the schools in the city had delayed the opening of the new term. To facilitate online teaching during this period, Suzhou Xinhua Bookstore took the initiative to learn about the requirements for online teaching from the Suzhou Education Bureau and the Suzhou Institute of Education Science. The bookstore then reported these findings to its parent company PPMG.

With the help of PPMG's other subsidiaries, including Jiangsu People's Publishing, Phoenix Science Press, and Phoenix Education Publishing, electronic versions of teaching materials were quickly delivered to schools in Suzhou.

Phoenix Vocational Education Books Ltd also offered free e-teaching materials and online courses to vocational schools in Suzhou.

In addition, PPMG also lent a helping hand to Lianyungang and other cities in March during the pandemic outbreak.