China's college entrance exam 40 years ago and now

Registration for the exam: (Up) Candidates sign up for the national college entrance exam at a registration location in 1977. China resumed the national college entrance examinations in 1977, with as many as 5.7 million candidate students sitting the exam. [File photo: sohu.com] (Down) Students register online for the 2017 national college entrance exam at a high school in the city of Hengshui in north China's Hebei Province on November 25, 2016. A total of 9.4 million Chinese students sat this year's exam. [Photo: Xinhua]

Preparation of the exam: (Up) Candidates study for the national college entrance exam in 1977. [File photo: china.org.cn] (Down) A student reviews lessons before entering an exam venue in Beijing on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. [Photo: China Plus / Li Jin]

Entering the exam venue: (Up) Candidates enter an exam venue on December 11, 1977. [File photo: sohu.com] (Down) Students enter the exam venue at Xiancheng High School in the city of Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Sitting the exam: (Up) Candidates write on the exam paper in Beijing in 1977. [File photo: sohu.com] (Down) Students take the national college entrance exam at the Lingshan Middle School in Lingshan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Leaving the exam venue: (Up) Candidates leave an exam venue in 1977. [File photo: rednet.cn] (Down) Students leave an exam venue in the city of Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. [Photo: VCG]