A Chinese parent transports a desk on the back of her motorcycle along with her child for the first day of school in a village in Macheng, central China’s Hubei province, where more than 3000 other students have to bring their own desks to school.

Chinese children spend an average of 8.6 hours a day in school, with some spending 12 hours in the classroom, according to a 2007 survey conducted by China’s Youth and Children Research Centre. — AFP