Sweet dreams are made of this: the train journey towards Gaokao

（CRI Online）  10:20, June 07, 2013  

Wang Tianhao, a student of No.2 middle school in Dayangshu township, Elunchun autonomous banner, northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, reviews his lessons on a train on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Wang is among the close to 1,000 senior high students and their parents onboard the train chartered for the 130-kilometer journey L7061 from Dayangshu township to Alihe township, which is the nearest place to host the annual college entrance examination, or Gaokao, for the students. Wang says he wants to major in political science or law, join the army in his freshman year and become a public servant upon graduation. Some 9.12 million applicants are expected to take this year's college entrance exam from Friday to Saturday, a slight drop from the 9.15 million in 2012. The exam is known as the "single-log bridge" to a Chinese university and many examinees view it as a "life-or-death" moment. Chinese students and parents generally believe that attending universities is a prerequisite to securing a good job after graduation.