No respite at school famed for success
Print Edition
THE air crackles with anticipation in the east China town of Maotanchang ahead of the gaokao, the annual national college entrance exam which more than 9 million students are taking this year.
The town is famed for a middle school that puts students through rigorous 14-hour days in preparation for the exam, which begins today and is usually spread over two days.
Just 40 percent of students are expected to go on to university but Maotanchang Middle School is the exception.
Its website says up to 90 percent of its students have won college acceptances since 2010.
“My mother gave up her job and came here to keep me company,” said Xiang Licheng, a 20-year-old who came to Maotanchang to prepare for a second attempt at the exam.
He said the school had taught him endurance, among other life skills.
“Every time I don’t feel like studying, I will not relax, as I see the hardship my mother goes through in caring for me,” Xiang said.
Restaurant owner Zhang Xunze moved to Maotanchang three years ago so his son could attend the school.
“We thought life was too boring and had nothing to do. So we gathered some money and started this restaurant,” said 49-year-old Zhang, whose business is a short walk from the school gate.
In the lead-up to the exams, students took part in incense-burning ceremonies to pray for good luck. They also released into the sky floating lanterns inscribed with gaokao messages.
The parents were doing their part to help. Students cramming at the weekend received tins of steaming soup their parents had queued to deliver.
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