A total of 4,272 candidates in Pingtan, an island county in Fujian province, sat the annual college entrance examination on June 7, an increase of 300 students over last year.

The Pingtan education authorities set up a total of 173 examination rooms in Pingtan First High School, Chengguan High School, Hanying High School, and Haibin High School.

Many parents asked for leave from their jobs to accompany their children on June 6, the day before the start of the exam , when candidates had the opportunity to visit their examination room.

One father, surnamed Wu, said that even though he knew he could not help, it was a turning point for his son, and he felt better just by waiting for him outside the examination center.

After the familiarization visits, the examination rooms were then closed off to the public until the examination took place.

The authorities are using the strictest security checks and supervising system this year. Surveillance video cameras have been installed in all the examination rooms and the videos will be checked by specially-assigned exam officials. Any candidates who are found to have cheated will be severely punished in accordance with regulations, including disqualification, and teachers who collude in such cheating face expulsion.

The rain shower and cool weather during the examination was seen as helpful for candidates – as such weather conditions could help them to relax. Traffic police were ready for any emergencies, and two hotlines were set up to assist candidates.

The emergency hotline numbers are: 110 and 24331222.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman