Photo of female student causes website to crash

Beijing, June 28: An attractive Chinese female student's graduation pictures have proved so popular that they caused her university website to crash after being uploaded onto the homepage.

The website of one of China's top universities crashed after it had an unprecedented number of visitors who apparently logged in to check out the uploaded photos of the young female graduate.

In the pictures, the girl named Kang Kang is seen flaunting her graduation robes and holding a mortarboard hat, in a variety of poses on and around the university campus.

The incident occurred at the Renmin University of China and many people suspect the pictures are one of the ways the university uses to attract new students, 'South China Morning Post' reported.

The decision to put up the pictures - which is unusual for conservative Chinese universities - not only drew countless clicks on its website, but also excited people's curiosity as to who the student was.

According to The Beijing News, the girl is the university's arts school graduate majoring in the double bass.

Her photo was shot by a professional photographer Mao Yanzheng.

"It's unbelievable that it takes only one photo to make a person famous," Mao said.

Mao shot over 300 photos and chose two he thought were the best for the university's website. He said he only did it as a favour.

The varsity's decision to use the photo sparked different views on-line. Some netizens praised the picture for capturing the beauty of youth during graduation time.

"This student embodies the elegant, fresh look of our graduates," a Renmin University graduate commented on-line. Some admirers even dubbed the attractive graduate a "RenminU goddess" - a term very popular among young people in China to refer to pretty women whom they find unattainable.

However, others did not approve of the photo on the website, saying it was a deviation from the university's fundamental principles.

PTI