First Day of China's Gaokao Sees Diverse Cheering Scenes Across the Country

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 7) Today is the first day of China's National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao), with 12.9 million candidates entering exam halls. Various cheering and superstitious practices appeared across China, all aimed at bringing good luck.

According to multiple Chinese media reports, there are 12.9 million candidates this year. Many regions have implemented noise reduction and quiet zone measures to ensure candidates can take the exam smoothly. Outside exam halls, parents and schools pulled out all the stops. At Maotanchang High School in Anhui, the scene of tens of thousands seeing off candidates reappeared. The lead bus had the license plate "91666," a homophone for "will be admitted." The driver was also carefully chosen: a driver surnamed Ma (horse), born in the Year of the Horse, who has been driving candidates for over a decade, conveying the blessing of "immediate success" (Ma dao cheng gong).

In Guangzhou, parents held up sugarcane for good luck, a Cantonese phrase meaning "things will go smoothly." At Beijing Chen Jinglun High School, accompanying teachers used balloons to create a giant sunflower, wishing candidates to "win first place."

Across China, many mothers of candidates wore qipao (cheongsam) to accompany their children, symbolizing "a victorious start." Mothers wearing qipao have become a unique and eye-catching scene of the Gaokao. Consequently, every Gaokao season, qipao shops are bought out by parents. In Hangzhou, shops selling gold-colored qipao sell out quickly after each restock.

Data from China's Ministry of Education shows that the number of candidates this year is 12.9 million, a decrease of 450,000 from last year. This is the second consecutive year of decline in Gaokao registrations.

According to Caixin, Chen Zhiwen, a member of the Academic Committee of the China Society for Educational Development Strategy, analyzed the reasons for the decline. First, the Gaokao candidate pool includes students from both regular high schools and secondary vocational schools. In 2023, the total enrollment for these two types of schools decreased by about 100,000 compared to 2022, reducing the basic candidate pool.

Second, the Gaokao exam questions are being reformed to discourage rote learning, and public schools no longer accept repeat students, leading to a general decline in the number of repeat candidates. Additionally, as higher education becomes more universal, the value of a diploma has diminished. Some secondary vocational students believe that a university degree does not guarantee a decent job, so they give up on the exam and enter the workforce directly.

The report notes that although Gaokao registrations have declined in the past two years, research indicates that over the next decade, China's higher education-age population (18-22 years old) will follow a trend of first rising and then falling. Higher education resources will face challenges of short-term relative insufficiency and potential long-term surplus. (Editor: Lu Jiarong / Chen Kaiyu) 1150607