National college entrance exam in 1977

On May 24 1977, the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping delivered a speech entitled "Respect Knowledge, Respect Talents", indicating the possible re-introduction of the national college entrance exam that had been stopped a decade ago.

Later that winter, when more than 5 million candidates aged between 15 and 36 took the exam, it seemed as though spring had come at last. Looking back on the event, one cannot say too many in praise of the move.

The "gaokao", or national college entrance exam of 1977 not only restored an examination system, but also social equality and justice. This was a major turning point for millions of people born in the 1950s, those who took the exam went on to became a mainstay of the nation.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, over the last three decades, around 36 million students have been admitted into universities, colleges, and vocational and technical schools across China. Enrolment rates have risen from 4.7 percent in 1977 to 56.85 percent in 2006. School campuses become a place of mass education for all, rather than gardens of Eden for only fortune-favored scholars.