Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

PRIOR to the start of the first exam of this year’s college entrance examinations, or gaokao, a group of parents were seen at the exam site at Shenzhen Hongling Middle School in Futian District yesterday morning, waving slogans to cheer the exam takers.

They all wore red tops, hoping that it will bring good luck to the students.

At Shenzhen Meilin High School, another test venue in Futian District, a woman surnamed Shen wore a red qipao, a stylish traditional Chinese dress for ladies, while waiting for her granddaughter from the first exam.

Shen said that she specially chose the dress for the meaning of a Chinese set phrase, “旗开得胜,” which means a quick victory.

The Chinese character “qi” in the phrase “qipao” shares the sound of the first character (“旗”) of the set phrase.

“We prepared some fruit for our granddaughter. She worked really hard every day, even during the time when they were studying from home,” said Shen.

A mother surnamed Liu, as she waited at Meilin High School, told the reporter that she appreciated her son’s hard work over recent months.

“To be honest, I was stressed but I didn’t show it to my son because I was afraid of any negative impacts on him,” said Liu.

There was also a group of volunteers from China Construction Third Bureau First Engineering Co. Ltd. at Meilin High School, offering drinking water to exam takers and ensuring order at the surrounding areas of the venue.

After the first exam — the Chinese subject — ended, a student, identified as Li Jingyu from Shenzhen Fujing Foreign Language School who took the exam at Meilin High School, said that the test questions were not difficult, except the essay part.

“The preventative measures implemented at the venue are reassuring,” added Li.

The motorcycle patrol team of the Shenzhen traffic police bureau helped parents of two gaokao takers to send admission tickets to their kids yesterday.

Starting from June 25, the Shenzhen Municipal Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau has sent out 3,469 staff to remove illegal street vendors outside the exam sites to ensure a quiet environment for gaokao takers.

A total of 43,500 students in Shenzhen are taking the two-day exams, which will end this afternoon.