Chilblains and classes

In 1977, Tang Min was a 24-year-old math teacher at a middle school in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He took the exam together with his students and was admitted by the math department of Wuhan University in Hubei province.

"Twenty-five was the upper age limit for examinees that year, and I was already 24. I treated it as my last opportunity to take the exam, so I seized every minute, trying to make the best preparations," said Tang, now a macroeconomic researcher and a State Council consultant.

Because the gaokao had been suspended for a about decade, large numbers of people who should have already taken it flocked to sit the exam, leading to a glut of examinees in the first few years after it was revived.

In addition to teachers and students sitting the exam together, siblings of different ages took the exam at the same time.

Liu Haifeng and his younger brother prepared for the exam in the 6-square-meter bedroom they shared. They had just two months for revision.

"Our families, particularly our parents, showed full support. My brother and I were exempted from housework so that every minute could be saved for study," he said.

Students such as Liu, who planned to pursue arts-based academic paths at college, were tested in four subjects, similar to today's gaokao: Chinese, math, politics, and a combination of history and geography.

Chinese was Liu's strength, so he didn't need much preparation, but math, history and geography were his weak points because those subjects weren't taught when his generation was at high school. He had to learn from scratch, using outdated, poorly printed textbooks, the only learning materials available at the time.

"It was during the prep that I learned the names of many national capitals for the first time. For example, I learned that Budapest is the capital of Hungary - I hadn't known those things before."

He recalled that almost all middle schools offered free classes to help examinees learn and review lessons.

"So many people came to the classes that the lecture rooms were unable to hold them all, resulting in some having to stand outside at the window to listen to the teachers," he said.

"However, no one complained. It seemed as though everyone was filled with energy and hope, and thirsty for knowledge. The atmosphere was really fantastic," he said, adding that although he often had chilblains on his hands during the harsh winter, he doesn't remember feeling cold.