Chinese students are taking part in a pivotal nationwide exam season. The 45th national university entrance examination, commonly known as gaokao, runs through June 9 and remains the deciding gateway for entry into higher education institutions in the country.
Across the country, a total of 11.93 million applications have been filed. Examinations will be held at 330,000 centers, overseen by more than a million examiners and coordinators. Official figures reported a record 10.67% year-on-year increase from the previous year, underscoring the immense scale and societal significance of the gaokao.
In the face of ongoing public health challenges, Chinese authorities affirm that all students will be tested, regardless of their circumstances. The country continues to enforce strict public health measures under the zero-COVID policy framework that has shaped the testing phase in recent years.
In Beijing, the gaokao system serves 48,000 candidates. Each testing center has provisions for students who exhibit fever or cough symptoms, offering dedicated spaces so they can complete the decisive exam even if they test positive for COVID-19, while adhering to health protocols. [Global Times]
The gaokao’s importance in Chinese society is evident in social media, where many netizens offer encouragement to the so-called “generation of online instruction.” This year’s students are among the first to complete the majority of their high school education remotely, away from traditional classrooms. [Global Times]
“zero COVID” protocol during tests
The journey of each student reflects a generation’s varied challenges. A user on a prominent Chinese social platform compared past hardships to the current test period, noting that the long, arduous path has shaped this year’s candidates in meaningful ways. The challenges have, in turn, spurred resilience and growth among the applicants. [Global Times]
For those in the Shanghai metropolitan area, the city’s two-month-plus lockdown period finally eased about a week ago. As a result, the gaokao was postponed by a month and is now scheduled for July 7–9. Students were required to be in town by June 4 and to produce multiple negative PCR tests before entering the examination environment. [Global Times]
The gaokao, an examination tradition spanning decades since 1977, has long been a high-stakes rite of passage for China’s youth. A strong performance can determine professional opportunities and confer social pride on families if students secure admission to prestigious universities. [Global Times]
Cheating in gaokao has been criminalized since 2016 under the Chinese Penal Code. Penalties include prison terms of up to seven years, reflecting the authorities’ efforts to curb cheating and the reported attempts by organized crime groups to facilitate it, such as through devices embedded in clothing or other covert methods. [Global Times]
Given the sheer number of candidates and the limited number of places, roughly one in four applicants may not achieve the grades required for college admission. This reality underscores the intense competition and the enduring emphasis on higher education as a driver of social mobility in China. [Global Times]