Abstract: Quantum contextuality is one of the most perplexing and peculiar features of quantum mechanics. Concisely, it refers to the observation that the result of a single measurement in quantum mechanics depends on the set of joint measurements actually performed. The study of contextuality has a long history at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Here we review the theoretical and experimental advances in this direction achieved at USTC over the last twenty years. We start by introducing the renowned simplest proof of state-independent contextuality. We then present several experimental tests of quantum versus noncontextual theories with photons. Finally, we discuss the investigation of the role of contextuality in general quantum information science and its application in quantum computation.