China’s annual college entrance exam kicked off Tuesday, with a record 11.93 million students sitting the gaokao. The number taking the crucial exam is 1.15 million more compared with 2021.

More than 800 students across China took the exam in various COVID-19 quarantine sites this year, according to the Ministry of Education. In Shanghai, the exam has been postponed until July 7 due to the city’s outbreak.

Meanwhile, an estimated 10.76 million will graduate from universities this year, according to the top education authority. The number is an increase of 1.67 million compared with the previous year.

Editors: Bibek Bhandari and Qi Ya.

(Header image: A student reviews his study notes before the exam in Neijiang, Sichuan province, June 7, 2022. Lan Zitao/VCG)