Gan Fubao shows the 1978 Gaokao exam paper. (Photo/Jiangnan City Daily)

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the resumption of Gaokao, China’s college entrance examination. Gan Fubao, an elderly man in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, carries deep sentiment toward the Gaokao. He has a collection of every exam paper since 1978. His current collection has 39 exams.

Gan Fubao sorts out his collection of Gaokao exam papers. (Photo/Jiangnan City Daily)

Gan Fubao often digs out old high school textbooks; one of his favorites is mathematics. (Photo/Jiangnan City Daily)

Gaokao is the most competitive test for Chinese students. However, it was even more life-changing for the educated youth forty years ago in 1977 when China resumed this system after the ten-year-long Cultural Revolution.

Even though Gan was already 30 years old in 1977, he took the Gaokao that year. Fortunately, he fulfilled his college dream and was accepted by Jiangxi University. After graduation, Mr. Gan quit his job as a laborer and started working as a technician with higher income. It was the Gaokao that changed his fate.

This year’s Gaokao is just around the corner, and Mr. Gan will continue to add to this collection of exams. After retirement, his happiest time every day is to play with his granddaughter beside the Fuhe River. He will watch her grow up and tell her his Gaokao stories in the future.  

Gan Fubao plays with his granddaughter. (Photo/Jiangnan City Daily)

Gan shows the Gaokao exam attendance sheet he used in 1977. (Photo/Jiangnan City Daily)