A teacher gives high fives to his students before they enter an examination room in Beijing, June 7, 2023. /CFP
A parent pats her son to encourage him before he enters an examination room in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province on June 7, 2023. /CFP
Moms stand outside an examination venue in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province to wait for their children on June 7, 2023. /CFP
A mom talks to her daughter happily after the girl completes the first subject of the gaokao in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia on June 7, 2023. /CFP
The gaokao, China's annual national college entrance exam, began amid sweltering heat on Wednesday. Temperatures have surged to over 35 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country and gaokao candidates have been fired up to do their best in their two-day exams.