Exams for Millions of Chinese Students Begin in the Largest “Gaokao” Ever

Mothers wearing crimson gowns and fathers with umbrellas huddled together in Beijing’s drizzled streets on Friday, the opening day of China’s largest-ever “gaokao” exams that will determine the paths taken by millions of high school students, after sending their kids inside an exam hall.

The Ministry of Education reports that 13.42 million Students have registered for the high-stakes examinations, indicating that this year’s multi-subject gaokao series is expected to have a record number of pupils taking the test.

According to people, this is the beginning of a life, as 50-year-old Zhi Haihong stated to AFP. “So one cannot slack off.”

To bring her daughter to the examination site in central Beijing, Zhi dressed herself like a traditional qipao, believing that the vivid red colour would bring good fortune.

High school students in China undergo intense training in many topics such as Chinese, English, mathematics, physics, and the humanities through the gaokao, with the outcomes being crucial for university admission.

In recent decades, China has experienced a significant expansion of higher education due to rising living standards and parental expectations for their children’s future employment.

Fresh graduates now face a less promising job market than before as the second-largest economy in the world battles to recover from the pandemic, with high young unemployment being a major issue.

Zhi responded, “I think this is a necessary process of growing up,” when asked if she believed that young people are under a lot of pressure to continue their education.

“(The gaokao) is also a method for the country to select talented people,” she stated.

“One’s mental tolerance can only rise after experiencing pressure. When you work in society later on, you will be able to handle these pressures.

“I think this is understandable.”

Exam-related conversations dominated a Friday morning popular topics list on the social media platform Weibo, where numerous users posted images of pupils in uniform hugging and high-fiving their parents as they entered testing facilities.

Additionally contributing was the official Weibo account of China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe, which on Tuesday started returning samples from the Moon’s far side to Earth.

It gave encouragement, saying, “Everyone that is striving hard is terrific.”

Since complex schemes to cheat have been exposed in the past, education authorities are always on high alert prior to exams.

In order to create a relaxed atmosphere that will enable test takers to focus, areas surrounding testing venues are frequently strictly regulated, with traffic being redirected and honking being forbidden.

45-year-old Sun Song dropped his daughter up for her first exam on Friday morning and then sat under an umbrella talking with other parents.

“It will be enough if she can find a job she likes and get into a school she likes,” Sun stated to AFP.

“As long as the kid is happy, it’s enough.”