Inside the world's most important exam (part one)

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• 00:03

  The Economist.

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  Every June, students from all around China sit the Gaokao,

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  the country's national university entrance exam.

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  This year, 12.9 million of them took part.

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  For many, the Gaokao is a gateway to university education,

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  career opportunities, and social mobility.

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  It is also one of the most intense and controversial rites of passage in modern China,

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  admired for its meritocratic ideals, criticized for its pressures and inequalities,

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  and constantly debated as the country evolves.

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  Over the next two weeks, we'll take you inside the world's largest academic examination,

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  speaking with students and teachers about what the Gaokao means to them,

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  and exploring whether it remains the best way for China's brightest young things to get ahead.

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  I'm Jiehao Chen, The Economist's China researcher, and I'm here with Mark Johnson,

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  a former China correspondent who now writes about education around the world.

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  In part one of our two-part series, we're asking, what is Gaokao,

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  and what is it like to prepare for an exam that can make or break your future?

• 01:25

  This is Drum Tower from The Economist.

• 01:33

  Hey Mark, welcome to Drum Tower.

• 01:35

  Hello.

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  Is this your first time?

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