Today is the beginning of the gaokao, the National College Entrance Exam. The exam may have a thousand loopholes, but it defends the bottom line of social equality, says an article in People's Daily. Excerpts:

Foreigners may find it difficult to understand the importance of today to many families in China. Millions of students are taking an exam that will to a large extent decide their, and even their families' future.

The gaokao is never perfect. Experts as well as ordinary people have never stopped complaining about the practice of deciding everything with one exam, while also pointing out its many loopholes such as different standards for different provinces and the uneven distribution of educational resources.

However, the exam is fair at least on one point, that everyone is equal before the points.

For most families without any influential background, this is an essential opportunity to change their destiny through education. It is easy to visualize the rigidity of social structures without the exam, as most people at the grassroots would lose the opportunity of striving upward.

So the exam is defending the bottom line of social equality, and we hope social equality can be better promoted.