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Fran Lu

A 19-year-old has moved millions of people online by wearing a photograph of his late mother while sitting for the most important exam of his life.
Chen, from central China’s Jiangxi province, took China’s national college entrance exam, also known as “gaokao”, from June 7 to June 9.
His father, Li Wenbo, said Chen wore black, a symbol of mourning, on the second day. On the last day of the test, he wore his late mother’s photo on his T-shirt.
Chen said he wore it in a position close to his heart so that his mother could sit the exam together with him.

His mother, Yu Jianfang, died from bile duct cancer three years ago, aged 37.
Li said Yu was diagnosed in 2021 and died after just a few months, adding that he used up all the family’s savings, even selling their car, to pay for her treatment.
He spent more than one million yuan (US$140,000) in total.
The husband, who works for China’s Blue Sky Rescue, never stopped mourning his wife on social media. He also tried his best to be both a father and a mother to their two children.
He said his wife’s only wish was that her two children go to university and grow up to be decent adults.

Li stopped his son from visiting his mother’s grave for the past year so that he could prepare for the “gaokao”.
He said the first thing that Chen said to him after finishing the exam was: “I miss mum. Let’s go to see her.”
Chen kowtowed at her grave and vowed to be brave and look to the future.
This year’s national entrance examination saw 13.35 million candidates take the test, a slight drop from last year’s record-high of 13.42 million.
The test scores will be published between June 23 and June 26.
Many consider the crucial exam to be a student’s only chance of going to a good university and achieving success.

Some families choose to hide deaths in the family from exam candidates to avoid distracting them.
Chen’s story attracted more than four million views on social media.
“He could finally express all his love to his mother at her grave, and now he moves on with her love. I wish him all the best,” said one person.
“He promised his mother he would go to university and he did not give up on his studies despite his grief. He is a hero,” another person said.


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Grieving father stops son visiting late mother’s burial site in run-up to crucial test so boy can focus on studies.


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China boy touches hearts by wearing late mum’s photo during exam, visiting grave afterwards

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Grieving father stops son visiting late mother’s burial site in run-up to crucial test so boy can focus on studies.

Grieving father stops son visiting late mother’s burial site in run-up to crucial test so boy can focus on studies.