More than 10 million students across China will sit for the National College Entrance Examination, known as gaokao in Chinese, from July 7 to 8. /CFP

Special ceremonies are being held by schools nationwide to send best wishes to their students not only for the exam but also for a bright future. /CFP

These events are aimed at helping students boost their confidence before taking the exam. /CFP

This year's gaokao was earlier scheduled for June but was later postponed by a month due to the COVID-19 epidemic. /CFP

The number of gaokao candidates has increased by 400,000 compared to last year, according to China's Ministry of Education. /CFP