China's Gaokao Exam 2026: A video showing Chinese students seeking good luck from police personnel and vehicles before appearing for the country's highly competitive Gaokao examination has triggered widespread discussion on social media, with some users drawing comparisons between China's examination system and India's recent struggles with paper leak controversies.
The video was shared on X by Siddharth's Echelon, who describes himself as a history coach and author. In the post, he wrote, "China finished Gaokao yesterday. It is the exam 13 million students take for admission to universities. Here they are touching the numbers 985 and 211 for good luck. Policemen with badges and cars bearing those numbers are especially stationed to pass on good luck to students."
Sharing the video, he added, "How happy kids and policemen are. No checking, no paper leaks, no unnecessary extra stress on students before the exam."
Referring to examination controversies in India, he further wrote, "And by the way, Indian paper leaks made global news, and China too knows about it. In some posts, they have started mentioning how they conduct such large examinations."
In the video, students can be seen enthusiastically touching a police car, a motorcycle, and police badges before entering the examination centre. Police personnel are also seen smiling and wishing candidates good luck.
China finished Gaokao yesterday. It is the exam 13 million students take for admission in Universities.
— Siddharth's Echelon (@SiddharthKG7) June 9, 2026
Here they are touching the number 985 & 211 for good luck. Policemen with badges & cars of those numbers & especially standing to rub the luck on students.
985- number of… pic.twitter.com/Chsge7ffBM
Responding to the post, an X user explained the significance of the numbers. "There are 39 elite universities in China. The '985' comes from the September 1985 start date of the project to develop these institutions. These top universities are part of the 116 universities under the '211 Project' (21st Century initiative)," the user wrote.
The post drew mixed reactions from social media users. While some praised China's examination management practices, others questioned comparisons between the two countries and cautioned against drawing conclusions from viral videos.
"Problem is that China uses its army for this Gaokao exam, and it's fine, but when India wants to use its army, people say that no government agency is capable of handling it," a user wrote.
"This is exactly why China doesn't allow any bad news to come out in the open. It knows that people, both those better off and those worse off, will mock it," another user commented.
Another wrote, "You can learn how to solve the toughest science and math problems and still lack the ability to reason your actions and use rationality."
A third user said, "Even leaks happen in China. Read history. Corruption is deep-rooted there in the CCP. Don't defame your own country without knowing the facts."
"We should not have made so much noise about paper leaks; now China is mocking us," another user remarked.
Separately, an X user @alfadelta0108 shared a detailed post outlining what he described as China's examination management measures during the Gaokao.
According to the post, police adopt a civic support role during the examination period by creating fast-track lanes for students, maintaining silence around test centres, and assisting candidates facing emergencies or traffic delays.
The user also claimed that question paper setters are isolated for months before the examination in heavily guarded facilities with no internet access, while final papers are printed in highly secure locations under strict supervision.
The post further states that examination papers are transported in armoured vehicles under armed police escort and monitored through GPS tracking, live video feeds, and time-controlled smart locks. It also claimed that exam centres use facial recognition technology, AI-based surveillance, and signal-jamming systems to prevent cheating, with serious violations attracting criminal penalties.
The discussion comes at a time when India's medical entrance examination, NEET-UG, remains under scrutiny following paper leak allegations, leading to cacellation of the exam which badly affected more than 22 lakh candidates and sparked nationwide concern over examination security, call for fixing accountability, and reforms needed to ensure the integrity of large-scale competitive examinations.
The NEET UG re-exam is now scheduled to be held on June 21 under unprecendented security meausure involving deployement of India Air Force helicopters and aircarft in the trnasportation of question papers and likelyhood of central armed forces for the smooth, free and fair conduct of the re-exam.
The Gaokao is China's national-level college entrance examination and serves as the primary basis for university admissions. Conducted once a year, it plays a decisive role in shaping a student's academic future. A student's Gaokao score determines not only the university they can enter but also the course they are eligible to pursue.
Every year in India, the dream of becoming a doctor drives nearly 20 to 25 lakh students to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). It is among the country's most competitive entrance exams, acting as the sole gateway for MBBS and BDS admissions.
But along with its scale and importance, NEET has repeatedly come under scrutiny, ranging from alleged paper leaks and irregularities to concerns over examination centre management and result processing. Each controversy has reignited a broader debate on exam security in India's high-stakes testing system.
In comparison, China's Gaokao sees participation from nearly 1.3 crore students every year. Despite this massive scale, incidents of paper leaks or major examination irregularities are rarely reported in China, often making the two systems a point of comparison in global education debates.
