A man charged with murdering eight primary school children last month went on trial Thursday in east China.

Zheng Minsheng, a former community doctor, was charged with the "intentional homicide" of the children on March 23 outside the gate of the Nanping Experimental Elementary School.

Five other children were injured in the knife attack.

Prosecutors of the Nanping People's Procuratorate played 15 video clips, totaling 55 seconds of footage, showing Zheng, 41, stabbing children with a knife as they arrived at the school.

More than 50 reporters from dozens of media organizations were present at the hearing, which opened at 8 a.m., at the city's the Intermediate People's Court.

Police said after the attack that their investigations showed Zheng carried out the act because he felt frustrated after breaking up with his girlfriend and he found life meaningless.

Zheng had no history of mental illness, according to police.

Four of the injured children have been moved out of intensive care to receive rehabilitation, while the worst injured, Zhang Xuexin, was still in the ICU for observation, according to doctors with the No.1 Hospital of Nanping where the children were treated.