Man to take gaokao for 16th time

A man who has taken China's national college entrance examination, or gaokao, 15 times without getting into his dream school has announced that he will take it again next year.

Tang Shangjun, 35, said in a video posted on his social media account on Monday that he has been studying the new gaokao format, which will be introduced in Guangxi province in 2024. The new format offers more curriculum choices to students and is seen as a way to make the gaokao more fair and equitable.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to take the gaokao next year," Tang said. "It is a big challenge for me, but it is also a big opportunity. No matter how difficult it is, I will spare no efforts to press ahead."

Tang was born in a village in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He took his first gaokao in 2009 and has taken it every year since then. He has been admitted to several prestigious universities, but he has turned them all down in order to continue pursuing his dream of attending Tsinghua University, one of China's top universities.

This year, Tang scored 594 points on the gaokao, which exceeded the threshold point for a first-tier university in Guangxi by 119 points. However, he was rejected by the intended majors from Central China Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei province. He was also not satisfied with other majors and was reluctant to settle for a second-tier university.