The annual the national college entrance examination, or Gaokao in Chinese, could be deemed as one of the most important and influential exams in China as many students and their parents believe that the exams are an influential factor in their future careers and lives.
On the day of the examination, all give way to the participating students. Police officers are on call to help students in need and on their guard to ensure a clear traffic; medics are stationed at each exam site ready with first aid for candidates if needed; and subway systems have opened a fast lane to help Gaokao candidates enter the stations as soon as possible.
Taxi drivers volunteer to give free rides to Gaokao students who have booked ahead of time in Wuhan, central China. /Screenshot via The Paper
In the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a team of taxi drivers has also volunteered to provide free rides to Gaokao candidates during the COVID-19.
The team of 108 worked for 70 consecutive days to transport local medics from their homes to hospitals during the city's months long lockdown. Each of them drove over 100 kilometers a day.
A volunteer taxi driver is sanitizing her car. /Screenshot via The Paper
Only offering services to Gaokao students, these driving volunteers have had their cars maintained, planned the best route from candidates' houses to their exam sites and performed trial runs after receiving bookings. They also need to have a temperature check on a daily basis and be wearing masks on the days they pick up students. Frequent ventilation and sanitizing are strictly required.
The team have been commended for being dedicated to the public interest since their deeds circulated on the social media. Some people left comments, saying for example, "It is these people on the ordinary post who have touched the public."
Volunteer taxi drivers. /Screenshot via The Paper
According to Xinhua, candidates who need a pickup service already started to book the free rides from June 30 and in some other cities, like Beijing and Chongqing, there are also drivers who have volunteered to give a ride to candidates.
Gaokao students have their temperatures checked in Hefei City, Anhui Province, July 7, 2020. /CFP
This year, a total of 10.71 million students are taking part in Gaokao around the country, an increase of 400,000 on last year. All exam sites are required to conduct temperature checks; students whose temperature is higher than 37.3 degrees are not allowed to enter the exam rooms.
(The cover photo is a screenshot of the volunteering drivers via The Paper.)