2.2m students begin new semester, as schools open
Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Dong Jun. Subtitles by Yang Meiping.
About 2.2 million students in Shanghai stepped into over 4,300 campuses of kindergartens or schools to kick off the new semester on Friday.
At Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School in Huangpu District, the scene of parents and grandparents dropping children at the school gate and waving goodbye has returned.
Some parents were taking photos of their first-grade children at the gate to mark a milestone in their lives.
"It's a big day for my family as my first child now has formally kicked off her schooling," said one mother.
"She attended a three-day orientation session at the school and loved it very much. She got up at 6:45am and hopped to the school. We're happy to see that."
The school arranged a special class for students. It invited model worker Weng Weiliang, a rocket expert, to tell students stories behind China's development in the aerospace industry.
It has been a tradition for the school to invite model workers to share stories about different walks of life, to enable students to learn more about the country and inspire their interests in different fields.
Other schools also held special events for the first day.
At Minhang District Experimental Primary School, students were asked to make "keys" to open doors to their dreams, encouraging them to set goals for the new semester and work hard to achieve them.
Students enter the Chuncheng Campus of Minhang District Experimental Primary School with "keys" in their hands.
Parents wave goodbye to their children in front of Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School in Huangpu District on Friday, the first day of the new semester.
It's time to say goodbye.
Parents take twin brothers to school.
Students are back to school.
A back-to-school photo
A father drops her daughter off at school.
Children in class
