The Gaokao (), also known as the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) and the Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges, is the annual nationally-coordinated provincially-administered undergraduate admission exam in China, starting on 7 June and ending on different dates across provinces, with the latest closing on 10 June. Despite the name, the exam is conducted at the provincial level, with variations determined by provincial governments, under the central coordination of the Ministry of Education.
The Gaokao is required for undergraduate admissions to all higher education institutions in the country. It is taken by graduating high school students at the end of their final academic year.
History
Background The first Gaokao was held on 15–17 August 1952.
The Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges marked the start of the reform of National Matriculation Tests Policies (NMTP), or the Gaokao, in the newly established People's Republic of China. With the implementation of the first Five Year Plan in 1953, the Gaokao was further enhanced. After repeated discussions and experiments, the Gaokao was eventually set as a fundamental policy system in 1959. From 1958, the tertiary entrance examination system was affected by the Great Leap Forward Movement. Unified recruitment was soon replaced by separate recruitment by individual or allied tertiary education institutions. Meanwhile, political censorship on candidate students was enhanced. From 1962, the Gaokao system was criticized due to its negative impact on the working class; in July 1966, the Gaokao was officially canceled and substituted with a new admission policy of recommending workers, farmers and soldiers to college.Guodong Wei, "On the Reform of China's NCEE since 1977" (PhD diss., Hebei University, 2008). During the next ten years, the Down to the Countryside Movement, initiated by Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong, forced both senior and junior secondary school graduates, the so-called "educated youth", to work as farmers in countryside villages. Against the backdrop of world revolution, about 17 million such young people joined the ranks of farmers, working and living alongside them.
In the early 1970s, Chairman Mao reinstated university operations. However, new students were selected through evaluation by a revolutionary committee rather than through formal academic scores. This practice continued until the death of Mao in September 1976. In late 1977, Deng Xiaoping, then under Hua Guofeng, the heir apparent of Mao, officially resumed traditional examinations based on academics, the Gaokao, which has continued to the present day. In addition to being an important part of university admissions since its reintroduction in 1977, the Gaokao has represented meritocracy in contemporary China and reflected strong cultural values derived from the old imperial examination system.
The first such examination after the Cultural Revolution took place in late 1977.
In 1992, the history of the Chinese Communist Party was added to the scope of the Gaokao.
After 2022, some provinces have instituted reforms to remove extra points for ethnic minorities and students who participated in athletic and extra-scholar activities. The changes have been gradually rolled out to 5 different groups of provinces, and have been finally implemented completely as of 2025.
2006 Gaokao In 2006, a record high of 9.5 million people applied for tertiary education entry in China. Of these, 8.8 million (93%) took the Gaokao and 27,600 (0.28%) were exempted () as these students demonstrated exceptional merit in the quality of their work and understanding of the academic subjects. Out of the 9.5 million applicants, 5,460,500 (57.48%) were admitted to universities or colleges. Everyone else (700,000 students) took other standardized entrance exams, such as those designed for adult education students.
2017 Gaokao In 2017, 9.40 million students took the Gaokao, 7 million of whom were admitted into colleges or universities. The percentage of first-class admission (Yi Ben; ), considered to be good universities in China, varied from 9.48% to 30.5%, with the lowest admission rates in Henan province and Shanxi province, at less than 10%.
Below are the changes of the exam scope from 2016 to 2017 (in most areas of China, where the students use the Nationwide Exam Papers in Gaokao):
Yuwen
All the exam contents are set into compulsory examination scope.
Mathematics
Elective Course 4–1 (Selection of Geometric Proof) is removed from the elective examination scope.
Foreign Language
No changes.
Physics
Elective Course 3–5 is changed from the elective examination scope into the compulsory examination scope.
Chemistry
Elective Course 2 (Chemistry and Technology) is removed from the elective examination scope.
Biology
Topic 3 (Tissue Culture Technology of Plants) is removed from the elective examination scope of Elective Course 1 (Biotechnology Practice).
Political Science
No changes.
History
Elective Course 2 (Democratic Thought and Practice in Modern Society) is removed from the elective examination scope.
Geography
Elective Course 5 (Natural Disasters and Prevention) is removed from the elective examination scope.
2018 Gaokao 9.75 million students attended Gaokao on 7–8 June with 7,909,900 (or 81.13% of the total attending students) being successful in being admitted to colleges or universities.
2020–2022 COVID‑19 postponements On 31 March 2020, China's Ministry of Education announced that the 2020 Gaokao would be postponed by one month, moving the national dates to 7–8 July because of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. Students took the rescheduled exams under epidemic prevention measures such as temperature checks, mask wearing, and staggered entry.
Although the exam returned to its usual early‑June slot in 2021, Shanghai deferred its local sitting of the 2022 Gaokao to 7–9 July after a citywide outbreak—the first such delay since 2020. 2022 saw a record 11.93 million registrations nationwide, representing an increase of 1.15 million people compared to 2021.
Acceptance rate for each year
Source:
The number of higher education institutes in the People's Republic of China has risen annually since 1977. From 1999 to 2020, the number of institutes increased dramatically from 1,071 to 2,740, which significantly contributed to the rapid growth in the number of NCEE examinees and accepted students.
+ Annual acceptance rate Year Number of examinees Accepted students Acceptance rate 1977 5,700,000 270,000 5.19% 1978 6,100,000 402,000 6.59% 1979 4,680,000 280,000 5.98% 1980 3,330,000 280,000 8.41% 1981 2,590,000 280,000 10.81% 1982 1,870,000 320,000 17.11% 1983 1,670,000 390,000 23.35% 1984 1,640,000 480,000 29.27% 1985 1,760,000 620,000 35.23% 1986 1,910,000 570,000 29.84% 1987 2,280,000 620,000 27.19% 1988 2,720,000 670,000 24.63% 1989 2,660,000 600,000 22.56% 1990 2,830,000 610,000 21.55% 1991 2,960,000 620,000 20.95% 1992 3,030,000 750,000 24.75% 1993 2,860,000 980,000 34.27% 1994 2,510,000 900,000 35.86% 1995 2,530,000 930,000 36.76% 1996 2,410,000 970,000 40.25% 1997 2,780,000 1,000,000 35.97% 1998 3,200,000 1,083,600 33.86% 1999 2,880,000 1,596,800 55.44% 2000 3,750,000 2,206,100 58.83% 2001 4,540,000 2,682,800 59.09% 2002 5,100,000 3,205,000 62.84% 2003 6,130,000 3,821,700 62.34% 2004 7,290,000 4,473,400 61.36% 2005 8,770,000 5,044,600 57.52% 2006 9,500,000 5,460,500 57.48% 2007 10,100,000 5,659,200 56.03% 2008 10,500,000 6,076,600 57.87% 2009 10,200,000 6,394,900 62.70% 2010 9,460,000 6,617,600 69.95% 2011 9,330,000 6,815,000 73.04% 2012 9,150,000 6,888,300 75.28% 2013 9,120,000 6,998,300 76.74% 2014 9,390,000 7,214,000 76.83% 2015 9,420,000 7,378,500 78.33% 2016 9,400,000 7,486,100 79.64% 2017 9,400,000 7,614,900 81.01% 2018 9,750,000 7,909,900 81.13% 2019 10,310,000 9,149,000 88.74% 2020 10,710,000 9,675,000 90.34% 2021 10,780,000 10,013,200 92.89% 2022 11,930,000 10,145,400 85.04% 2023 12,910,000 10,422,200 80.73% 2024 13,420,000 10,689,000 79.65% 2025 13,350,000 – – 2026 12,900,000 – –