University students graduate from China’s ‘Hogwarts’ - in pictures

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  University students wait in line to receive their certificates during a graduation ceremony at the campus of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts in Xinle, Hebei province.

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  Graduates celebrate with their certificates during a ceremony at the campus of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts.

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  The university, which has more than 8,000 students, made headlines last year when overseas media compared its new campus building to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series of children’s novels.

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  University students celebrate with their certificates during a graduation ceremony at the campus of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts in Xinle.

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  The school’s first crop of Bachelor degree students graduated Tuesday, after enrolling at the institution four years ago, when the campus castle was little more than a fantasy.

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  University students in traditional dress attend a party after their graduation ceremony at the campus of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts in Xinle.

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  In a picture taken on Tuesday, people gather in front of the campus of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts after a graduation ceremony in Xinle, Hebei province. A Chinese university has earned comparisons with Harry Potter’s Hogwarts due to its bizarre castle campus.

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  At a ceremony inspired by ancient traditions, more than 1,000 students donned flowing white gowns outside a red-beamed temple on the campus dedicated to ancient sage Confucius.

A Chinese university has earned comparisons with Harry Potter’s Hogwarts due to its bizarre castle campus, but local traditions supplied the magic at a Confucian-style ceremony for its degree graduates. The university made headlines last year when overseas media compared its new campus building to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Photos: Fred Dufour / AFP