Liangzhou students seek Confucian blessings before gaokao

It is perhaps little surprise that every year, in the days leading up to the national college entrance examination, the Wen Temple located in Liangzhou district of Wuwei, Gansu province, is inundated with students and their parents looking for a little divine intervention on the big day.

This year was no exception, and the Wen Temple - the country's third-largest temple dedicated to Confucius - played host to thousands of local visitors.

The temple complex, built in 1439 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was once entitled the "unparalleled Confucian academy in Gansu province" and experienced many years of expansion.