Students at Beijing's Zhongguancun No.3 Primary School raise the national flag on September 1, when primary and middle schools across China started the fall semester.

China is exempting about 28.21 million urban students in the nine-year compulsory education program from tuition fees this semester. The students need to pay for textbooks and uniforms only.

The nine-year compulsory education spans primary and junior middle school studies and had cost parents between 190 yuan ($27) to 350 yuan ($50) every year.

The tuition-free education program was launched in rural areas in 2007, benefiting about 150 million students.

Below: September 2, Premier Wen Jiabao visits students at a primary school in prefabricated houses in Dujiangyan City, a region in southwest China's Sichuan Province that was severely hit by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12.