"Gaokao" candidates brave rain to take the national college entrance exam at Yantai No. 1 Middle School in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, June 7, 2014. The exam, known as the "gaokao", began on Saturday. A total of 9.39 million people have registered for the exam this year to vie for 6.98 million vacancies in universities and colleges. (Xinhua/Chu Yang)