High school students prepare for the exam in Baokang county, Hubei province. YANG TAO/VCG

"I could have enrolled in popular schools like finance and law," the Tsinghua journalism and communications graduate says. "But I didn't. They didn't interest me."

The reporter for a Beijing-based newspaper, who mostly writes about reading and fine arts, explains: "The gaokao didn't predestine my career, but gave me the privilege to continue with my interests."

Jiang spent her childhood reading. She dreamed of become a globe-trotting author.

"I've perhaps partly realized that dream in another form," she says.

"I may not make that much money. But it's enough for me to take a job I really like. Doing well on the gaokao never means everything will go well in the future."

She considers it a passageway along a much longer road.

"But everyone should cherish that moment," she says.

"It's fairer than job hunting because there's no interview. Few situations later in life afford you such fair appraisals."