Delighted students from Optics Valley No 10 Primary School jump for joy on Sept 1 -- the first day of the new semester. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

There were smiles and cheers all round as primary and secondary students from schools in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone -- located in Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei province -- welcomed the new semester on Sept 1.

There are currently 48 primary and secondary schools and 127 kindergartens in the zone, which is also known as Optics Valley of China.

They cater for 113,851 students, some 12,496 more than the same period last year, representing a 12.33 percent year-on-year increase.