Ye Dingyu’s photo entitled Candlelight of Students at a Hope Primary School, shows 36 children pulling faces in front a blackboard, holding lit candles.[Photo/ edu.jschina.com.]

A photo montage of 36 young students, each holding a candle in front of their classroom blackboard has drawn attention for its symbolism of hope and the attainment of knowledge.

Taken by Ye Dingyu, a postgraduate student from Nanjing Normal University (NNU), Candlelight of Students at a Hope Primary School, stood out among 1,500 entries to win third prize at last year’s Hongbao Cup.

The annual photo competition has been held since 2008 and is organized by the Television Artists Association of Liaoning province and Liaoning Normal University.   

Ye took the photo while volunteering at Sanjiao Guodian Hope Primary School in Shanxi province.

“What impressed me most was the students’ strong hunger for knowledge,” said Ye when talking about his inspiration. “The burning candles were more like their beacons of hope, guiding their way.”