Teachers' Day

Students visit Pan Jiezhe, the principal of the Xinbeijiang Primary School, on Sept. 9, 2007.

The Teachers' Day (教师节) in China falls on Sept. 10. The tradition started in 1985 on the Chinese mainland where teachers experienced severe discrimination during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Students like to present greeting cards and flowers to their teachers to show their respect.

In 1985, the ninth plenary meeting of the standing committee of the sixth National People's Congress (NPC) decided to make September 10 Teachers' Day.

The earliest modern Teachers' Day began in 1932, when the Kuomintang government chose June 6. Yet the day was cancelled in 1951, two years after the founding of People's Republic of China; later the government merged it with Labor Day on May 1.

The world celebrates Teachers' Day on October 5, chosen by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994.