Candidates for admission will no longer need to enter preparatory programs before entering the university, though International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores of 6.5 will still be required to demonstrate English proficiency. more ›

Another interesting gaokao headline here: A 44 year old man from Chengdu is sitting the gaokao for the 15th time in 28 years. Liang Shi first sat the national college entrance exam when he was 16 but did so poorly he was not accepted by any college. In subsequent testings, he managed to place into a local technical school but dropped out because he felt he could do better if he retook the test and has been trying his luck ever since. more ›

Stories about China's economic and political rise appeared on a list of "the ten biggest news stories of the 21st century" published by American Global Language Reseach, and are thus considered big news. The 750,000 print, digitial, and internet media organizations that follow this published over 300,000,000 reports based on this information. So what aspects of China's rise are the most worthy of commendation and attention? The China Youth Daily and Sina did an online poll and the six winning traits were: economic development, international influence, improvement of the peoples' lives, technological [advancements], the new progress of cities, and China's [overall] degree of openness. Following the above information, discuss your own thoughts. Choose an appropriate angle, draft your own title, select any style of writing you like (except poetry). Don't stray away from what's covered in the question, don't quote/take from others, and don't plagiarize.

It's that time of year again. 9.2 million high school students nationwide are strapping themselves onto chairs for the two-to-three-day gaokao exam, which is China's national college entrance exam. more ›

The pressures of China’s national college entrance exam can have some tragic consequences: three gaokao takers have committed suicide in separate incidents in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces this week, repeating a disturbing pattern that happens nearly every year during China’s most rigorous academic test. more ›

Yesterday we posted the essay questions for the national college entrance exam and found them a bit perplexing, to say the least. Students were given a cartoon of three cats eating fish, scolding a fourth cat, "Such times we live in! Why would you catch mice when we have fish?" more ›

From today (June 7) to the 9th, Shanghai's poor high school students are and will be taking the gaokao - the penultimate test that decides your future in this country for ever and ever, or something. more ›

After seeing this video and reading the story behind it on ChinaHush, we have to admit we don't understand China's censorship methods at all. This video was originally a music video from popular Taiwanese pop stars S.H.E. called "Zhong Guo Hua," or Chinese Language: instead of praising the merits of China's history and rise like the original, this version lays waste to all of the advances of modernity in very direct and scathing fashion. The mind blowing part is that the government not only sanctioned the song with the new lyrics, it used the song for questions on the gaokao earlier this month, prompting confusion and anger from students as well as netizens. In any case, the video has since been taken off the major internet portals, so this one requires a VPN to watch. more ›

It's tough being a student in China. In addition to all the regular adolescent troubles, like being bullied by your classmates and potentially your teacher, you've also got to worry about getting into college. And the college entrance exam is no easy task: the gaokao can make or break your entire future, depending on how far down the line of causality you want to follow it. Students will do anything to get good marks: cheating is rampant, and intensive study camps are a more ›

The test prep industry in China is cutthroat, to put it nicely. The South China Morning Post published an article on the intense competition amongst private tutors in Hong Kong, which sounds so fierce and backstabbing that it's just begging for a reality television show (if one's not in the works already). Popular tutors can make as much as one million HKD a month, provided that they have the hype and publicity to keep the students flowing in. more ›

Youku Buzz has found an upload of Senior Year (高三). The 94-minute video documents the last year of classes at No. 1 High School of Wuping in Fujian Province and won the best documentary award at the 30th Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2006. Luckily, this version contains English subtitles so everyone can follow along. more ›

We've talked at length about the national exams (or gaokao) that have been making our Chinese compatriots' lives hell the last month. Every year there's a couple of weird controversies, usually relating to cheating or illegal registration or the like, and this year was no exception. more ›

You may have noticed two otherwise inconspicuous high school students recently featured on the front page of the Xin Jing Bao (The Beijing News), and if not, you probably noticed that something strange was going on earlier this month. In both instances, the gaokao (高考) is to blame. more ›

The national university entrance examination: a rite of passage for many Chinese students, and all important, some might say, in determining much of what happens in your life afterwards. It's a lot of pressure for 17 and 18 year-old kids. This video was taken in Hankou, supposedly before the test. One might be more inclined to celebrate afterwards, though of course those that might not have done so well would perhaps seek solace in Johnny Walker, as one does in times of need. more ›

19 local college students took their lives last year, according to a Shanghai Education Commission study, one of the first of its kind to list the seven causes of death for college students. more ›

According to the Shanghai Daily, this Sunday, over 500 students tried to use false admission notices to register at Shanghai Normal University's school of mathematics and science. As the school denied having issued any admission notices at all, there was little doubt about the authencity of their documents: "The university authority was quite confused by the sudden influx of 'check-in' students," said one of the university's publicity officials. "It is almost impossible for a single school to enroll so many students at a time, let alone unqualified ones". This attempt says quite a lot about the desperate measures a failed gaokao, university admission test, can lead to. more ›

A new documentary film comparing six high school students from China, the U.S. and India calls for reform of the U.S. education system in favor of the more rigorous Asian education systems. Two Million Minutes, a film developed by American venture capitalist Bob Compton, points out that students in China and India work much harder than those in the U.S., score consistently better than American students on international student comparisons, and now pose a threat to American students' job prospects in the U.S. In the movie's trailer, one American high school student gabs about sororities while her Chinese counterpart is featured fiercely practicing her violin. more ›