Teacher's Day celebrated across China

Students at the Lantian Elementary School in Xiangcheng, Henan Province celebrate this year's Teacher's Day with their teacher on September 7, 2017.[Photo: henan.gov.cn]

Students in many parts of China held various events to express their best wishes to teachers on Saturday, ahead of China's 33rd Teacher's Day which was marked on Sunday. 

A total of 910 students in Hanshan County, east China's Anhui Province, formed a big heart with characters reading "happy holiday" and "9.10" inside to celebrate the special day. 

As an old Chinese saying goes, respect teachers and their teachings so that the torch can be passed on to the next generation. At Longchi community in Anhui's Chuzhou City, 18 left-behind students whose parents are working far away from home wore traditional Chinese clothing and delivered letters to teachers as part of a traditional ritual called the "apprentice ceremony."

"I learned how the ancient people were apprenticed to masters from this event. I'll respect my teacher more and study hard," said Lichen Hanyu, a student. 

A grand ceremony was held in Yanying Primary School in Zibo City, east China's Shandong Province. Students bowed to their teachers to show respect for them. In return, teachers brushed a red dot on students' forehead, expressing their best wishes that the students will be sharp-eyed and become pillars of society.