Police cars patrolled the streets, ambulances were placed on standby and electric generators were put in position in case of an emergency. In Chongqing, authorities fired rockets in the air to create rain to cool the rising temperatures.

 

The life of a final-year high school student reached a climax yesterday as millions of Chinese teenagers sat the national entry examinations for college and universities. And everybody was feeling the heat.

 

 

This year, a record number of 9.5 million students sat the examinations, up from 9 million last year.

 

Parents have especially felt the pressure and many had waged an emotional war on two fronts. On the one hand, they share the tremendous pressure with of the pending exam, which can decide the child's fate for the future. At the same time, they also have to endure temper tantrums and irregular behavior of their children.

 

Liu Zhen from Tianjin, knows first hand the pressure a parent must go through. When her son sat the exam last year, she started a blog detailing her son's preparation for the biggest day of his young life.

 

The blog became a site on which many parents exchanged ideas about helping their children -- and themselves -- cope with the pressure.

 

Over a three-month period and to Liu's surprise, her blog garnered more than 500,000 hits. Even though her son is no longer a member of this summer's league of examinees, Liu's site is still hugely popular with parents logging on and seeking advice.

 

Liu has formed an alliance with more than 100 blogger parents at sina.com and the network provides emotional support in the lead up to the exam. The network of exam-related blogs has attracted more than 1 million hits since March.

 

The attention has made Liu an instant celebrity.

 

Shortly after the College Entrance Examination last year, the mother and son were continuously invited to TV studios and websites to share their experiences.

 

During one interview with Phoenix TV last year, Liu recalled how she fought with her son, Li Kan, now a first-year student at Nankai University, over the amount of time he watched television.

 

"I reminded him many times to cut down the TV time. He was allowed about 30 minutes a day because the College Entrance Examination was just around corner," she said.

 

"However, he confronted me and kept watching for two hours one day."

 

The teenager shouted back at his mother and stormed into his room slamming the door. Liu said she didn't want to show weakness to her son so she rushed into his bedroom and slammed a pillow onto the ground. Li Kan had the last laugh. He waited for his mother to go to sleep and sneaked into the TV room and watched another 30 minutes. Liu wrote the incident into her blog but said she omitted the pillow-throwing part.

 

Looking back, Liu said she would have taken a different approach. However, because of her experiences, she can pass on this wisdom to parents seeking help from her this year.

 

Families see the College Entrance Examination as the gateway for their children's success in the future and local authorities understand the importance of the exams.

 

Local governments send police cars, ambulances, even set up mobile power generators just in case there are blackouts.

 

Police ensure there are no traffic jams around examination locations.

 

Even the People's Liberation Army is helping students. Military helicopters from Liaoyang of Liaoning Province in Northeast China cancelled their scheduled flight to help reduce the noise for examinees.

 

Most parents do not write journals on the Internet. And most work places take it for granted that many parents will ask for a few days' leave and accompany their children to the exam.

 

However, more than 74.5 percent examinees do not want their parents to attend exams, according to last year's survey.

 

"I know he doesn't want me to wait outside but I cannot walk away," said Wang, the father of an examinee.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, Hu Ying, a student from the high school affiliated with Peking University, went to check the exam room at the high school affiliated with Renmin University.

 

"It seems that things have been done for us in an excessive manner," she said.

 

Meanwhile, Hu's mother complained there was too much media attention on the exams.

 

Stories about the big tests were repeated on TV, newspapers and even on the bus TV network. "You cannot help getting depressed when being surrounded by such messages, reminding you it's important again and again," she said.

 

Traffic around the examination areas was being monitored, however some say the restrictions go too far.

 

"It's a little bit ridiculous that buses will be forbidden to stop at usual stations around examination spots," says Wang.

 

Scholars said too much pressure was placed on only a few hours of examination time, and academic progress lasted much longer.

 

Professor Wang Yihuan said that the College Entrance Examination was not only supposed to be an academic exam but also challenge the examinees long-term perseverance.

 

"Thus the overprotection is a reflection of our society's blundering eagerness for quick success and instant benefit," said Wang.

 

Cheng Fangping, researcher from the China National Institution of Educational Research, agreed that when education is related closely with individuals, people get over-sensitive.

 

(China Daily June 8, 2007)