Huang Haoyue wins gold at the 19th IOAA. [Photo/Hangzhou Daily]

Huang Haoyue, a 10th-grade student from Linping Middle School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, won gold at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).

Founded in 2007, the IOAA is one of the world's largest and most prestigious astronomy competitions for secondary school students.

Huang's interest in astronomy began in fifth grade. Living in Linping district, he traveled across Hangzhou every week to attend astronomy classes at the Binjiang branch of the Hangzhou Youth Activity Center. Each one-way trip took more than an hour, but he kept going weekend after weekend.

In middle school, Huang continued pursuing astronomy at the Hangzhou Academy of Juvenile Sciences under the guidance of teacher Dou Xiaojun. During school holidays, he took part in field observations at locations including Tianhuangping in Anji county, Mogan Mountain, and Tianmu Mountain.

Huang's achievements in the National Middle School Astronomy Knowledge Competition have grown steadily. He received an honorable mention in 2022-2023, won silver in 2023-2024, took gold in 2025-2026, and earned international recognition at the IOAA.

His progress reflects the academy's step-by-step training program. Beginners can take introductory classes to learn about the night sky, while primary and middle school students with a deeper interest can join astronomy clubs to study the subject further and explore it alongside like-minded peers.