SOS Children's Village International was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Austria after World War II to provide war orphans and homeless children a family-like environment.

Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and the SOS Children's Village International reached a cooperative agreement in 1984 to establish adoption communities in China. In nearly three decades, such facilities were set up in Tianjin, Yantai in Shandong Province, Qiqihaer in Heilongjiang Province, Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Kaifeng in Henan Province, Putian in Fujian Province, Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region, and Beijing.

Moreover, affiliated facilities such as SOS youth apartments, kindergartens, social centers, and the like have also been built in the villages. In Yantai, the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Middle School was also established to provide education for children from the SOS Children's Village.

As of the end of 2011, a total of 2,263 children (including those who have grown up and left) had lived in SOS children's villages in China. Among these children, 225 have received two-year college education and 120 have studied in Chinese and foreign universities.

(Source: China Association for SOS Children's Village)