That’s a very generalization. Depends on where you want to study. May work with less prestige universities. The requirements of US elite universities are tough. Even medium well known are not easy. Try to enter lets say Chicago Business School.
I know dozens of cases of (学渣） those who failed or didn't even get confidence to take the Gaokao exam went to US and Europe for college and got their degrees with ease, that's why showing a foreign degree is becoming some kind of stigma of the job seekers in China.
Congrats to the man. But logically he should have learned from "his mistakes" from the 2nd or 3rd time he took the exam.Man to sit gaokao for 27th time since 1983 to realize his dream
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-06-06 11:31
Liang Shi prepares for his 26th gaokao on June 6, 2022. [Photo/VCG]
What does the National College Entrance Exam, or gaokao, mean to Chinese? Everyone has their own answer. For Liang Shi, it's the only way to realize his dream of becoming a college student, Bandao Metropolis Daily reported.
At the age of 56, the Sichuan native will sit the exam on Wednesday for the 27th time.
In 1983, Liang attended his first gaokao but failed. He tried again in the next two years but saw no luck.
In 1986, his parents persuaded him to go to a technical school. He quit after just one year. He said he didn't want to work alongside loud machines.
He kept preparing for the test and did odd jobs.
In 1991, he went to work at a timber factory and got married. But he didn't give up on gaokao.
In 1992, he could only attend adult gaokao due to the age limit. He was admitted to Nanjing Forestry University, but he wasn't satisfied with it, so he didn't go.
In the same year, he was laid off. To raise his family, he worked as a salesman. He sold clothing, refrigerator, TV and hardware. Later he opened a building material factory and earned a million yuan in less than a year.
In 2001, the Ministry of Education canceled the age limit to attend gaokao. Liang picked up his books again.
Buried in his business, he only had time to sit the exam in 2002 and 2006. From 2010 to 2022, he sat for the exam for 13 consecutive years.
His best score came in 2018 when he got 469 out of the total 750. In 2019, he scored 462. But he didn't apply any university because his goal was Sichuan University, a Double First-Class university.
His repeated tries have earned him a reputation in gaokao and are met with mixed responses. His son, who took the test in 2011 with him and has graduated with a master's degree, doesn't want him to be under the spotlight. His wife said nothing so Liang took her silence as supportive.
Some netizen say he is wasting time and energy and he is putting on an act. Liang doesn't care about others' judgment. "Everyone pursues different things. You can't say who is right who is wrong. As long as the law permits, it's reasonable," he said.
To prepare for the exam, Liang leaves home at 8 am, takes the subway to study at a friend's teahouse and goes home at 9-10 pm. There's a fixed table for him. At noon, he takes a nap on the bench.
At such an age, Liang said he finds it hard to get up early. He wants to realize his dream as soon as possible so he has decided not to fix his goal on Sichuan University this year. "I'll be ok with a key university. If my score is sufficient for a key university, I'll attend it," he said.
Man to sit <em>gaokao</em> for 27th time to realize his dream
What does the National College Entrance Exam, or gaokao, mean to Chinese? Everyone has their own answer. For Liang Shi, it's the only way to realize his dream of becoming a college student, Bandao Metropolis Daily reported.www.chinadaily.com.cn
In my opinion the Chinese dude should have just gone the Nanjing Forestry University and gone to a career college or technical college.Man to sit gaokao for 27th time since 1983 to realize his dream
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-06-06 11:31
Liang Shi prepares for his 26th gaokao on June 6, 2022. [Photo/VCG]
What does the National College Entrance Exam, or gaokao, mean to Chinese? Everyone has their own answer. For Liang Shi, it's the only way to realize his dream of becoming a college student, Bandao Metropolis Daily reported.
At the age of 56, the Sichuan native will sit the exam on Wednesday for the 27th time.
In 1983, Liang attended his first gaokao but failed. He tried again in the next two years but saw no luck.
In 1986, his parents persuaded him to go to a technical school. He quit after just one year. He said he didn't want to work alongside loud machines.
He kept preparing for the test and did odd jobs.
In 1991, he went to work at a timber factory and got married. But he didn't give up on gaokao.
In 1992, he could only attend adult gaokao due to the age limit. He was admitted to Nanjing Forestry University, but he wasn't satisfied with it, so he didn't go.
In the same year, he was laid off. To raise his family, he worked as a salesman. He sold clothing, refrigerator, TV and hardware. Later he opened a building material factory and earned a million yuan in less than a year.
In 2001, the Ministry of Education canceled the age limit to attend gaokao. Liang picked up his books again.
Buried in his business, he only had time to sit the exam in 2002 and 2006. From 2010 to 2022, he sat for the exam for 13 consecutive years.
His best score came in 2018 when he got 469 out of the total 750. In 2019, he scored 462. But he didn't apply any university because his goal was Sichuan University, a Double First-Class university.
His repeated tries have earned him a reputation in gaokao and are met with mixed responses. His son, who took the test in 2011 with him and has graduated with a master's degree, doesn't want him to be under the spotlight. His wife said nothing so Liang took her silence as supportive.
Some netizen say he is wasting time and energy and he is putting on an act. Liang doesn't care about others' judgment. "Everyone pursues different things. You can't say who is right who is wrong. As long as the law permits, it's reasonable," he said.
To prepare for the exam, Liang leaves home at 8 am, takes the subway to study at a friend's teahouse and goes home at 9-10 pm. There's a fixed table for him. At noon, he takes a nap on the bench.
At such an age, Liang said he finds it hard to get up early. He wants to realize his dream as soon as possible so he has decided not to fix his goal on Sichuan University this year. "I'll be ok with a key university. If my score is sufficient for a key university, I'll attend it," he said.
Man to sit <em>gaokao</em> for 27th time to realize his dream
What does the National College Entrance Exam, or gaokao, mean to Chinese? Everyone has their own answer. For Liang Shi, it's the only way to realize his dream of becoming a college student, Bandao Metropolis Daily reported.
That just shows China education system is totally disconnected. China is an island in the ocean. China doesn’t recognize western degrees. The west doesn’t recognize China’s. That sucks. I told here earlier I possess 2 university engineering and master degrees. which is the best thing I have ever done in the West. My education is recognized in the west I can work, live, travel everywhere in the western hemisphere.
You made a mistake. China recognizes most countries' diplomas, and other countries also recognize China's diplomas. For example, there are many Indians studying in medical schools in China and going to work in the USA after graduation.
That’s because Chinese closed mindset. What you don’t know you consider as inferior. Seriously you should drop that weaklings’ sentiment. There are so many beautiful and prestigious universities in France, in Germany. Even in Norway. I did pay a visit to the university of Oslo. Beautiful campus buildings and gardens. Such like in Ancient Rome. That’s probably something you haven’t ever heard of, because every village style university in China is more superior.
He's already a millionaire.Self-made millionaire sits China's university exams for 27th time
Self-made millionaire Liang Shi, 56, has stubbornly sat for China's tough university entrance exam 26 times before (Photo: AFP/Handout)
07 Jun 2023 10:09AM
BEIJING: Among the millions of fresh-faced high schoolers sitting in China's dreaded "gaokao" college entrance exam on Wednesday (Jun 7), Liang Shi sticks out like a sore thumb - a grey-haired, self-made millionaire stubbornly taking the test for the 27th time.
Liang, 56, is no fool. He worked his way up from a menial job on a factory floor to establishing his own successful construction materials business.
But one dream has always eluded him: Getting a high enough score on the notoriously gruelling gaokao to study at the top-tier Sichuan University.
To compete with the nearly 13 million high school seniors taking the exam this year, Liang said he has been living "the life of an ascetic monk" for the past few months, rising just after dawn to furiously study textbooks for 12 hours a day.
"It's an uncomfortable thought that I didn't manage to get a college education," Liang told AFP.
"I really want to go to university and become an intellectual."
Over the past four decades, the Sichuan native has taken the gaokao 26 times but has consistently failed to get the required result to send him to his chosen university.
"They call me 'the gaokao holdout'," he said, proudly owning a mocking nickname given to him by local media.
For students, a good gaokao result can decide one's life trajectory, with a degree from an elite university conferring respect, status and better job opportunities.
Liang took the exam for the first time in 1983, when he was only 16.
He kept trying to boost his score for the next decade until he had to give up in 1992, as the test at that time was restricted to single people aged under 25.
As soon as those limits were lifted in 2001, Liang's desire for a prestigious college education was rekindled.
He has since taken the gaokao another 16 times, including every year since 2010 even when harsh zero-COVID-19 restrictions made taking the exam more challenging than normal.
Online, some have questioned whether his apparent obsession is merely a publicity stunt.
"What for?" Liang retorted.
"No one in their right mind would spend decades taking the gaokao for a stunt."
He had to give up drinking and playing mahjong during the preparation period, he jokingly pointed out.
Liang's quest hasn't got much support from his son, who took the gaokao himself in 2011.
"At first he didn't approve, and now, he's just indifferent," Liang said.
Asked how he would celebrate once the test is over this weekend, he said he was planning to make up for lost fun.
"I'm going to play mahjong with my friends for three days and three nights."
Chinese ex-official's wife says alleged repatriation pressure turned her life in US 'upside-down'
NEW YORK: A former Chinese official and his wife had left their homeland and kept their US address private. Yet eight years later, two strangers were banging on their New Jersey front door and twisting the handle, the wife testified in a US court Monday (Jun 5). When the men left and Liu Fang...www.channelnewsasia.com
Public stunts don't last for 40 years.
These two old men are still very different.
I guess you're too ignorant to know about the thousands of diploma mills that popped up in recent years. Their sole purpose is to milk Indian students who can't make it to a reputable colleage.
My friend a fuerdai was an exam loser, he became a patent holder, gone back to China now. I've crossed path with tier-1 graduates from China that now work in the UK.
We have that here in UK. Indians & Pakistani scam their own country men with fake diplomas.
I m in education sector, I know it for a fact that even top US universities like Harvard and Stanford have money for diploma programs with some private agencies in China, You only need to go to those schools to have a tour cause China's foreign degree verification department automatically denies all foreign diplomas of those who never left China in the past 3 years.
