A record 10.5 million young Chinese on Saturday participated in the national College Entrance Examination (CEE), the largest of its kind in the world.

The country, as usual, is in the grips of summer madness of the exam. Success in the exam, also know as "gaokao," can change a candidate's life in this fiercely competitive society. However, the after-effect of the deadly May 12 earthquake is felt in many parts of the nation.

"I could only change my life by entering the college," said 19-year-old Shen Chuanjun before entering a makeshift house to take part in the exam in quake-hit Ningqiang County of the northwestern Shaanxi Province.

"In my village, families would do whatever to support their children who passed the exam," he said.

A total of 1,921 students in Ningqiang participated in the exam in 70 makeshift houses on the playground of a local middle school. Many of the students resided in nearby tents for fear of aftershocks.

It became quiet as soon as the bell rang signaling the exam's start. Proctors and school staff kept silent so as not to affect the participants who bore the hope of their families.

The Ministry of Education said only 5.99 million of the 10.5 million participants would be able to enter college.

The significance of the May 12 earthquake was also felt in Beijing. Emergency exit maps were seen in the high school of Peking University, one of the capital's exam venues. Emergency telephone numbers were put on every elevator exit.

Kang Jian, president of the school, said "After the Sichuan earthquake occurred, the school administration attached more importance to students and teachers' lives in case of emergency."

The exam was postponed in the 62 counties worst hit by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. The new date for the exam has yet to be set.

The massive earthquake had claimed 69,130 lives and left another 17,824 missing as of Friday noon.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2008)