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Iconic 1991 photo of Chinese girl symbolises thirst for knowledge, changing lives

Iconic 1991 photo of Chinese girl symbolises thirst for knowledge, changing lives
South China Morning Post Sunday 09 August 2026, 08:00 UTC By Fran Lu 1 min read
Key Points

A 1991 black-and-white portrait photograph has become an iconic symbol of impoverished Chinese students’ yearning for knowledge, profoundly altering the life of its subject. The photograph, titled “I Want to Go to School,” captures a poignant moment of an eight-year-old Primary One girl studying at a rural school in central China’s Anhui province. Her bright eyes gaze ahead, radiating an insatiable thirst for learning.

A 1991 black-and-white portrait photograph has become an iconic symbol of impoverished Chinese students’ yearning for knowledge, profoundly altering the life of its subject. The photograph, titled “I Want to Go to School,” captures a poignant moment of an eight-year-old Primary One girl studying at a rural school in central China’s Anhui province. Her bright eyes gaze ahead, radiating an insatiable thirst for learning. Affectionately known as “Big Eyes,” the picture was taken by photojournalist...
Chinese (ORG) China (LOCATION) Anhui (LOCATION)
Originally published by South China Morning Post Read original →

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