In order to get into prestigious universities in China, it is required that you perform well in one big exam. No previous test counts. On Wednesday, 13 million young Chinese took the “world’s most difficult exam”.
On Wednesday, the first part of the national so-called gaokao exams was held in China. The test takes about nine hours and is spread over at least two days.
During the morning, the queues were long outside the exam halls in the country – about 13 million young people were ready for the test that will determine their future. At the side of the queues stood cheering parents – many of them dressed in the lucky color of scarlet.
– My son is quite calm. I think I’m more nervous than him,” Zhang Jing, a mother in her 40s dressed in a red cheongsam outfit, told AFP outside a school in the capital.
Questions about Xi’s sayings
The test has many open questions, and it is important to interpret them correctly. In addition to knowledge of Chinese, English, mathematics and other optional subjects, one is also expected to have knowledge of what the country’s leader Xi Jinping says and means.
In a sample question, published by the party-controlled newspaper Folkets Dagblad, the students must analyze two sayings that President Xi Jinping usually uses, and it is emphasized that the answers should be given “from the right perspective”.
At most, you can get 750 points on the test. Only a few percent are expected to get over 600 points, which is required for the most prestigious courses.
Studied at home for several years
Most of the teenagers who took the test on Wednesday have done most of their high school studies from home – from 2020 until last December.
– I have gotten up to study at four in the morning every day, except Sundays, for four years. I’ve done everything I can, but I still feel quite nervous, says 17-year-old Jesse Rao from Shenzhen.
Over 90 percent of those who took the gaokao tests in 2021 got into a university. The proportion admitted to university has steadily increased over time.