Zhongkao
Provincial Education Bureaus
Complete guide to passing the Zhongkao exam on your first attempt.
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1 year
China
Provincial Education Bureaus
High school admission
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Complete Overview
The zhongkao is China's senior secondary school entrance examination, sat at the end of Grade 9 by every student who wants a place in a senior high school or a vocational senior secondary school. It is not one national paper: since the Ministry of Education issued its guiding opinion on reforming senior secondary school examination and admission (Jiao Ji Er [2016] No. 4, September 2016), the exam has been run by provincial and municipal education authorities as the junior secondary academic proficiency test, merging the junior high graduation exam and the senior high entrance exam into one, and registration fees are set locally and are small enough that neither Beijing nor Shanghai states a figure in its 2026 admission policy. Because each authority writes its own papers and sets its own mark allocation, the total score differs sharply between cities. Beijing's 2026 policy (Jing Jiao Ji [2026] No. 5, 26 March 2026) puts the admission total at 510 marks across six scored subjects: Chinese 100, Mathematics 100, Foreign Language 100, Morality and Rule of Law 80, Physics 80 and Physical Education and Health 50. Shanghai's 2026 policy keeps a 750-mark total across seven scored components, with Chinese, Mathematics and Foreign Language at 150 each. Shenzhen raised its total from 610 to 630 for 2026 by lifting the physics and chemistry practical papers from 12 marks to 20. The stakes are the split at the end of Grade 9. The Ministry of Education recorded 16.98 million junior secondary graduates in 2024 against 10.36 million places in general senior high schools, so 61 per cent went into the academic track. Adding the 4.18 million who entered vocational senior secondary schools counted by the Ministry, which excludes technical schools run by the human resources ministry, brings the total to about 86 per cent of the graduating cohort. The Ministry reported the gross enrolment rate for senior secondary education at 92.00 per cent for 2024. The National Bureau of Statistics put 2025 general senior high school intake at 10.75 million against 17.24 million junior secondary graduates, a 62.4 per cent academic share. Three features cut across the local variation. First, admission is banded: Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen all run early or independent admission, then quota allocation to junior high schools, then unified admission, in that order, and a student admitted in an earlier band does not enter the later ones. Second, quota allocation is deliberately redistributive: Beijing's 2026 policy allocates at least 50 per cent of places at high-quality general high schools to individual junior high schools, following a Ministry of Education requirement. Third, physical education now carries real weight: 50 marks in Beijing, 50 in Shenzhen and 30 in Shanghai, with a daily or process assessment component in all three.
Why Get Zhongkao Certified?
It decides the academic track. The Ministry of Education recorded 10.36 million general senior high school places against 16.98 million junior secondary graduates in 2024, so 61 per cent of the cohort entered the academic route and the rest went to vocational schools or left education.
Quota allocation gives students at ordinary junior high schools a real route into strong schools: Beijing allocates at least 50 per cent of places at high-quality general high schools directly to junior high schools, and Shanghai runs both quota to district and quota to school categories.
The threshold effects are explicit. Beijing's 2026 policy requires 430 marks out of 510 plus a grade B comprehensive quality evaluation to be eligible for the school-allocated quota route.
Some components can be taken twice. Beijing's computer-based English listening and speaking test gives two attempts, and Shanghai lets students sit the physics and chemistry practical exams twice and counts the better score.
Physical education is worth as much as a minor academic subject: 50 of 510 marks in Beijing, 50 of 630 in Shenzhen and 30 of 750 in Shanghai, each split between a live test and a process or daily assessment.
Beijing planned roughly 95,000 general senior high school places and 33,000 vocational places for 2026, so the split within one city is close to three academic places for every vocational one.
The examination is taken once a year on fixed provincial dates: 24 to 25 June 2026 in Beijing, 20 to 21 June 2026 for Shanghai's written papers and 26 to 28 June 2026 in Shenzhen.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
Shanghai publishes the fullest timing schedule: 530 minutes of scheduled examination time across nine sessions. Chinese 100 minutes, Mathematics 100 minutes, Foreign Language written paper 90 minutes including listening, Foreign Language listening and speaking test 10 minutes by computer dialogue, Morality and Rule of Law open-book paper 40 minutes, History open-book paper 40 minutes, the Comprehensive Test closed-book written paper 120 minutes, and physics and chemistry practical examinations of 15 minutes each. Beijing schedules its Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Morality and Rule of Law and Physics papers over 24 and 25 June 2026 and does not publish per-paper durations in its policy document. Shenzhen schedules its academic papers over 26 to 28 June 2026.
Questions
No provincial authority publishes question counts in its admission policy; what they publish is the mark allocation per subject and, in Shanghai's case, the duration of each paper. Shanghai's 2026 schedule contains nine separately timed sessions. Beijing scores six subjects, Shanghai seven components and Shenzhen seven subjects, with Shenzhen combining physics and chemistry into one 140-mark paper.
Passing Score
There is no pass mark. Admission is by rank against the places available in each band, and every city publishes minimum admission control lines after the exam rather than before. Beijing sets one explicit numeric gate: a total of 430 out of 510 plus a grade B comprehensive quality evaluation is required to apply through the school-allocated quota route. Shanghai requires a student to reach the relevant minimum admission control line before an independent-admission pre-contract becomes a formal offer.
Question Types
- Closed-book written papers in Chinese, Mathematics and Foreign Language in all three cities
- Open-book written papers in Morality and Rule of Law: 40 minutes in Shanghai, open-book in Beijing, and changed from closed to open book in Shenzhen for 2026
- Computer-based listening and speaking tests: Beijing runs the 40-mark listening and speaking component separately from the written paper with two attempts, and Shanghai runs a 10-minute human-machine dialogue worth 10 marks
- Laboratory practical examinations: Shanghai runs physics and chemistry practical tests of 15 minutes each, worth 10 and 5 marks; Shenzhen raised its combined physics and chemistry practical to 20 marks for 2026; Beijing awards 10 of its 80 physics marks for practical operation
- Physical education tests: Shenzhen's live test sets three categories containing sixteen events in all and requires one event from each, a 1+1+1 model worth 36 of the subject's 50 marks with the remaining 14 from process evaluation; Shanghai holds its unified physical test in April and May
- Cross-disciplinary case analysis: Shanghai's Comprehensive Test includes a 15-mark cross-disciplinary case analysis section alongside physics and chemistry
- Comprehensive quality evaluation: scored at 10 marks inside Beijing's Morality and Rule of Law subject, and at 50 marks in Shanghai's quota allocation batch as a pass or fail judgement
Delivery Method
Paper-based written examinations at centres organised by the municipal or provincial examinations authority, with computer-delivered listening and speaking components and in-person laboratory and physical education tests. Beijing and Shanghai both run choice filing after results are published, so students see their scores before they rank schools. Shanghai allows 15 unified-admission choices; Beijing runs early admission, quota allocation and unified admission in sequence.
How scoring works
Score scale
Set by each city. Beijing: 510 marks across Chinese 100, Mathematics 100, Foreign Language 100, Morality and Rule of Law 80, Physics 80 and Physical Education and Health 50. Shanghai: 750 marks across Chinese 150, Mathematics 150, Foreign Language 150, Morality and Rule of Law 60, History 60, Physical Education and Fitness 30 and a Comprehensive Test of 150. Shenzhen: 630 marks across Chinese 120, Mathematics 100, English 100, a combined Physics and Chemistry paper of 140, History 70, Morality and Rule of Law 50 and Physical Education and Health 50. Shenzhen reports results three ways at once: raw mark per subject, grade per subject and overall total.
Score needed to pass
No fixed pass mark. Each city publishes minimum admission control lines after the examination, and the effective cut score is whatever the last admitted student at each school scored. Beijing publishes one fixed numeric gate in advance: 430 of 510 plus a grade B comprehensive quality evaluation to be eligible for the school-allocated quota route. Shanghai requires students to reach the relevant minimum admission control line before an independent-admission pre-contract becomes a formal admission, and sets a separate line for the secondary-to-bachelor route equal to the city's general high school line.
Roughly what that means raw
The published mark totals are already raw. Converting between cities is meaningless because the syllabuses and papers differ, but the internal proportions are comparable: Chinese is 19.6 per cent of the total in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai and 19.0 per cent in Shenzhen, while physical education is 9.8 per cent in Beijing, 7.9 per cent in Shenzhen and 4.0 per cent in Shanghai.
When results arrive
Scores are published before students file school choices, which is the defining feature of the modern system. Beijing's 2026 policy states that admission operates with choices filed after scores are known, and Shanghai's 2026 policy does the same. Shenzhen publishes physical education results separately and well ahead of the academic results, with a fixed deadline for recheck applications submitted through the junior high school. Written papers in 2026 were sat on 24 and 25 June in Beijing, 20 and 21 June in Shanghai and 26 to 28 June in Shenzhen, with admission running through July.
How the scale is built
Raw marks summed across subjects, with no scaling or equating published by any of the three cities. Scoring is compensatory across subjects: there is no per-subject minimum in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. Several components are split between a unified examination and an assessment accumulated over the junior high years, which cannot be recovered on exam day: Beijing awards 20 of 50 physical education marks and 10 of 80 Morality and Rule of Law marks this way; Shanghai awards 30 of 60 for Morality and Rule of Law, 30 of 60 for History and 15 of 30 for physical education; and Shenzhen added a process-evaluation component to Physical Education and Health for 2026, splitting the subject's 50 marks into 36 for the live unified test and 14 for process evaluation. Comprehensive quality evaluation enters twice over: as 10 marks inside a Beijing subject, and as a separate 50-mark pass or fail judgement in Shanghai's quota allocation batch, where a pass is scored at the full 50 and a fail attracts a discretionary deduction.
Pacing and time budget
9 questions in 530 minutes gives you 59 minutes per timed session on average, across Shanghai's nine scheduled sessions per question.
100 (Chinese paper, full length)
150 marks attempted, which is 40 seconds a mark; reserve at least 45 minutes of the 100 for the composition
200 (Mathematics paper complete)
150 marks attempted in 100 minutes, again 40 seconds a mark, with the last two questions reached before minute 80
300 (Foreign Language written and speaking complete)
140 written marks in 90 minutes including 25 marks of listening, plus the 10-mark speaking test in 10 minutes
380 (both open-book papers complete)
30 marks of Morality and Rule of Law in 40 minutes and 30 marks of History in 40 minutes, which is 80 seconds a mark and the most generous rate on the whole schedule
500 (Comprehensive Test written paper complete)
135 written marks in 120 minutes: physics 70, chemistry 50 and cross-disciplinary case analysis 15, at 53 seconds a mark
| At this point | You should have answered |
|---|---|
| 100 (Chinese paper, full length) | 150 marks attempted, which is 40 seconds a mark; reserve at least 45 minutes of the 100 for the composition |
| 200 (Mathematics paper complete) | 150 marks attempted in 100 minutes, again 40 seconds a mark, with the last two questions reached before minute 80 |
| 300 (Foreign Language written and speaking complete) | 140 written marks in 90 minutes including 25 marks of listening, plus the 10-mark speaking test in 10 minutes |
| 380 (both open-book papers complete) | 30 marks of Morality and Rule of Law in 40 minutes and 30 marks of History in 40 minutes, which is 80 seconds a mark and the most generous rate on the whole schedule |
| 500 (Comprehensive Test written paper complete) | 135 written marks in 120 minutes: physics 70, chemistry 50 and cross-disciplinary case analysis 15, at 53 seconds a mark |
- Budget by marks, not by questions. No Chinese municipal authority publishes a question count, but every one publishes the mark for each subject and Shanghai publishes the minutes, which makes seconds-per-mark the only pacing unit that transfers.
- The open-book papers are the loosest clock and the tightest preparation. Eighty seconds a mark sounds generous until you spend forty of them finding the page, which is why tabbing the textbook beforehand is worth more than extra revision.
- The Comprehensive Test in Shanghai mixes three subjects in one 120-minute paper, so the internal split is yours to set. The same applies in Shenzhen, where physics and chemistry share a single 140-mark paper.
- Short components are all-or-nothing. Shanghai's speaking test is 10 minutes for 10 marks and each practical is 15 minutes for 10 or 5 marks; there is no recovery time inside any of them, which is exactly why the two permitted attempts at the practicals matter.
- Beijing does not publish per-paper durations in its policy document, only the exam dates of 24 and 25 June 2026 and the instruction that the Beijing Education Examinations Authority issues the detailed schedule separately. Work from that schedule rather than from another city's timings.
Where the marks are
Chinese
19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 19.0 per cent in Shenzhen
The largest or joint-largest single subject in all three cities. Classical Chinese translation and the memorised recitation set are the most reliably scoreable parts because they are finite and published in advance.
Mathematics
19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 15.9 per cent in Shenzhen
The widest score spread of any subject. The last two questions on a municipal paper are where the top band separates, and they usually combine circle geometry with similarity or a quadratic function with a coordinate construction.
Foreign Language
19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 15.9 per cent in Shenzhen
Beijing splits 40 of its 100 marks into a computer-based listening and speaking test with two attempts, which is the single most recoverable block of marks on the whole exam.
Physics, alone or combined with chemistry
15.7 per cent of Beijing's 510 as a standalone subject; in Shenzhen physics is 70 of the 140-mark combined physics-and-chemistry paper, which is 11.1 per cent of the 630 total; in Shanghai physics is 70 of the 150-mark Comprehensive Test, which is 46.7 per cent of that paper and 9.3 per cent of the 750 total
Circuit reasoning and mechanics carry the load, and every city now attaches a separately assessed practical: 10 marks in Beijing, 15 across physics and chemistry in Shanghai and 20 in Shenzhen.
Morality and Rule of Law
15.7 per cent in Beijing, 8.0 per cent in Shanghai, 7.9 per cent in Shenzhen
Open-book in all three cities as of 2026. Marks come from applying constitutional and policy material to a case rather than from recall, and Beijing folds 10 marks of comprehensive quality evaluation into the same subject.
Physical Education and Health
9.8 per cent in Beijing, 7.9 per cent in Shenzhen, 4.0 per cent in Shanghai
Half or more is a process or daily assessment accumulated over the junior high years, so it is decided long before the test. Shenzhen restructured its live test into three categories of 16 events for 2026 and lowered the scoring standard.
History, where scored
8.0 per cent in Shanghai, 11.1 per cent in Shenzhen, not scored in Beijing from 2025
Shanghai examines it open-book for 30 marks in 40 minutes with another 30 marks from daily assessment. Beijing dropped it from the scored total when it cut scored subjects from ten to six.
Comprehensive quality evaluation
10 of 80 marks inside a Beijing subject; 50 marks in Shanghai's quota allocation batch
Earned across the junior high years, not on exam day. In Beijing a grade B is a hard eligibility condition for the school-allocated quota route alongside a 430-mark total; in Shanghai a pass scores the full 50 and a fail attracts a deduction.
| Topic | Weight | Why it scores |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 19.0 per cent in Shenzhen | The largest or joint-largest single subject in all three cities. Classical Chinese translation and the memorised recitation set are the most reliably scoreable parts because they are finite and published in advance. |
| Mathematics | 19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 15.9 per cent in Shenzhen | The widest score spread of any subject. The last two questions on a municipal paper are where the top band separates, and they usually combine circle geometry with similarity or a quadratic function with a coordinate construction. |
| Foreign Language | 19.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.0 per cent in Shanghai, 15.9 per cent in Shenzhen | Beijing splits 40 of its 100 marks into a computer-based listening and speaking test with two attempts, which is the single most recoverable block of marks on the whole exam. |
| Physics, alone or combined with chemistry | 15.7 per cent of Beijing's 510 as a standalone subject; in Shenzhen physics is 70 of the 140-mark combined physics-and-chemistry paper, which is 11.1 per cent of the 630 total; in Shanghai physics is 70 of the 150-mark Comprehensive Test, which is 46.7 per cent of that paper and 9.3 per cent of the 750 total | Circuit reasoning and mechanics carry the load, and every city now attaches a separately assessed practical: 10 marks in Beijing, 15 across physics and chemistry in Shanghai and 20 in Shenzhen. |
| Morality and Rule of Law | 15.7 per cent in Beijing, 8.0 per cent in Shanghai, 7.9 per cent in Shenzhen | Open-book in all three cities as of 2026. Marks come from applying constitutional and policy material to a case rather than from recall, and Beijing folds 10 marks of comprehensive quality evaluation into the same subject. |
| Physical Education and Health | 9.8 per cent in Beijing, 7.9 per cent in Shenzhen, 4.0 per cent in Shanghai | Half or more is a process or daily assessment accumulated over the junior high years, so it is decided long before the test. Shenzhen restructured its live test into three categories of 16 events for 2026 and lowered the scoring standard. |
| History, where scored | 8.0 per cent in Shanghai, 11.1 per cent in Shenzhen, not scored in Beijing from 2025 | Shanghai examines it open-book for 30 marks in 40 minutes with another 30 marks from daily assessment. Beijing dropped it from the scored total when it cut scored subjects from ten to six. |
| Comprehensive quality evaluation | 10 of 80 marks inside a Beijing subject; 50 marks in Shanghai's quota allocation batch | Earned across the junior high years, not on exam day. In Beijing a grade B is a hard eligibility condition for the school-allocated quota route alongside a 430-mark total; in Shanghai a pass scores the full 50 and a fail attracts a deduction. |
The numbers
16,982,400 in 2024; 17,237,000 in 2025
Junior secondary graduates, 2024 and 2025
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024 National Statistical Communique on Educational Development; National Bureau of Statistics, 2025 Statistical Communique on National Economic and Social Development
10,362,000 in 2024, which is 61.0 per cent of that year's junior secondary graduates; 10,749,000 in 2025, which is 62.4 per cent
General senior high school intake
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024 National Statistical Communique on Educational Development; National Bureau of Statistics, 2025 Statistical Communique
4,183,300 entrants across 6,862 schools, a figure that excludes technical schools administered by the human resources and social security department
Vocational senior secondary intake, 2024
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024 National Statistical Communique on Educational Development, section 5(2) and note 22
92.00 per cent, defined as senior secondary enrolment as a percentage of the population aged 15 to 17
Gross enrolment rate in senior secondary education, 2024
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024 National Statistical Communique on Educational Development, section 1 and note 5
About 95,000 general senior high school places and about 33,000 vocational places, with public general high school classes capped at 45 students
Beijing intake plan, 2026
Source: Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Jing Jiao Ji [2026] No. 5, 26 March 2026
At least 50 per cent of places at high-quality general high schools in Beijing are allocated to individual junior high schools, following a Ministry of Education requirement
Quota allocation to junior high schools
Source: Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Jing Jiao Ji [2026] No. 5, section 2(4)
50 marks split 36 for the live unified test and 14 for process evaluation; the live test sets three categories containing sixteen events and each candidate selects one event from each category
Shenzhen physical education scoring, 2026
Source: Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau, 2026 Implementation Opinion on the Physical Education and Health subject of the junior secondary academic proficiency test (szeb.sz.gov.cn, sz.gov.cn)
If you fail
Wait before retaking
A full year. Each city runs the examination once, on fixed dates: 24 to 25 June 2026 for Beijing's academic papers, 20 to 21 June 2026 for Shanghai's written papers with practical and speaking components on 16 and 17 May and the physical test in April and May, and 26 to 28 June 2026 for Shenzhen's academic papers. There is no second sitting and no supplementary session. Within a single cycle, two components do allow a second attempt: Beijing's computer-based foreign language listening and speaking test gives two chances, and Shanghai allows two sittings of each of the physics and chemistry practical examinations with the better score counted.
Attempt limit
None is published in the municipal admission policies of Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. In practice the exam is taken once, in Grade 9, and repeating means repeating the school year. Whether a student may repeat Grade 9 and re-enter the examination is governed by provincial and municipal rules on repeat students rather than by the examination policy itself, and those rules differ by city, so the local education bureau is the only reliable source on it.
Retake fee
Registration fees are set by each provincial or municipal authority and are not stated in the 2026 admission policies of Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. None of the three documents names a figure, so any single number quoted for the zhongkao nationally is an assumption rather than a published fee.
The parts of the score that cannot be repaired by resitting are the accumulated ones. Beijing's 20 marks of physical education process assessment and 10 marks of comprehensive quality evaluation, and Shanghai's 30 marks each of daily assessment in Morality and Rule of Law and History plus 15 marks of physical education daily assessment, are built up across the junior high years. Shenzhen joined them in 2026 by adding a process-evaluation component to Physical Education and Health. Shenzhen also publishes a score recheck route for the physical education component, applied for through the junior high school by a fixed deadline rather than directly by the student. Beyond that, none of the three cities publishes a re-marking process for the written papers in its annual admission notice.
Exam Domains & Topics
Beijing's 2026 mark allocation is used for the weights in this section because it is the clearest single published blueprint; Shanghai sets Chinese at 150 of 750 and Shenzhen at 120 of 630. Shanghai allows 100 minutes.
Key Topics to Master:
- Classical Chinese reading and translation
- Modern prose comprehension
- Poetry appreciation and memorised recitation
- Composition to a set prompt and word count
- Accumulated language knowledge: characters, idioms, usage
- Non-continuous text and information extraction
Shanghai sets Mathematics at 150 of 750 with 100 minutes; Shenzhen at 100 of 630. The subject carries the widest spread of scores in most cities.
Key Topics to Master:
- Real numbers, algebraic expressions and equations
- Functions: linear, quadratic and inverse proportional
- Plane geometry: congruence, similarity, circles
- Solid geometry and three views
- Statistics and probability
- Coordinate geometry and transformations
- Multi-step application problems
Beijing separates the 40-mark computer-based listening and speaking test from the written paper and gives two attempts. Shanghai sets 150 marks: a 140-mark written paper including 25 marks of listening in 90 minutes, plus a 10-mark, 10-minute human-machine dialogue.
Key Topics to Master:
- Listening comprehension
- Speaking, delivered through computer dialogue
- Reading comprehension
- Cloze and language use
- Guided writing
- Vocabulary and grammar in context
Beijing examines this open-book. Shenzhen switched it from closed book to open book for 2026, at 50 marks. Shanghai combines a 30-mark open-book paper of 40 minutes with a 30-mark daily assessment.
Key Topics to Master:
- Constitutional principles and citizens' rights and duties
- Rule of law and the legal system
- Civic ethics and personal development
- National conditions and national policy
- Current affairs applied to case questions
- Open-book technique: locating material fast rather than memorising it
Shenzhen combines physics and chemistry into a single 140-mark paper of which physics is 70, chemistry 50 and the practical operation 20. Shanghai puts physics at 70 marks inside its 150-mark Comprehensive Test.
Key Topics to Master:
- Mechanics: force, motion, pressure, work and energy
- Thermal phenomena and internal energy
- Electricity: circuits, Ohm's law, electrical power
- Magnetism and electromagnetic induction
- Optics and sound
- Laboratory operation, assessed separately in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen
Shenzhen also sets 50 marks and for 2026 restructured the live test into three categories covering 16 events, with one event chosen from each, while lowering the scoring standard. Shanghai sets 30 marks split evenly between daily assessment and a unified test held in April and May.
Key Topics to Master:
- Endurance running
- Sprint and agility events
- Strength events such as standing long jump and pull-ups
- Ball skills, which Shenzhen separated into its own category for 2026
- Swimming, where offered as an option
- Process or daily assessment accumulated across the junior high years
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Download the current year admission notice from your municipal or provincial education commission and write down the exact mark for every scored subject.
- 2Confirm which subjects are open-book in your city, because Beijing examines Morality and Rule of Law open-book and Shenzhen switched to open-book for 2026.
- 3Find out which components can be taken twice, such as Beijing's computer-based English listening and speaking test and Shanghai's physics and chemistry practical exams.
- 4Note the exam dates and the components held early: Shanghai runs its practical and speaking tests on 16 and 17 May, two months before its written papers.
- 5Sit one full past paper set from your own city, since papers from another province test a different syllabus.
- 1Rebuild real numbers, algebraic manipulation and equation solving until the routine steps take no thought.
- 2Work quadratic functions alongside their graphs, since the coordinate geometry questions combine both.
- 3Time yourself to your city's real allowance; Shanghai gives 100 minutes for a 150-mark paper, which is 40 seconds per mark.
- 4Keep an error log grouped by cause, not by question: misread, method unknown, arithmetic slip.
- 5Redo every error from the log at the end of the week without looking at the worked solution.
- 1Work congruence and similarity proofs daily until you write the reasoning in the order markers expect.
- 2Cover circle theorems and their combination with similar triangles, which is where the harder questions sit.
- 3Practise three views and solid geometry, which appear in most municipal papers.
- 4Do a full timed paper and check how many marks you lost in the final two questions specifically.
- 5Rework the last two questions of five past papers, since that is where the top band separates.
- 1Work through the classical Chinese texts on your city's list, translating rather than reading translations.
- 2Rebuild the memorised recitation set; these are marks that never require thinking, only revision.
- 3Practise poetry appreciation with the standard framework: image, technique, emotion, effect.
- 4Work non-continuous text and information extraction questions, which reward speed rather than depth.
- 5Write two compositions to the prompt style and word count your city sets.
- 1Sit a full Chinese paper to your city's allowance, and check how many minutes the composition actually got.
- 2Fix a composition time budget in advance, leaving at least 45 of the 100 minutes for it in the Shanghai format.
- 3Build three reusable structures for the composition types your city sets, and stop inventing structure on the day.
- 4Practise modern prose comprehension by writing the answer before reading the mark scheme.
- 5Review the accumulation section daily in short bursts rather than in one long session.
- 1Work reading comprehension in timed blocks, because the written paper allowance is tight; Shanghai gives 90 minutes for 140 marks including 25 marks of listening.
- 2Drill cloze and language use, where accuracy is a function of vocabulary breadth rather than technique.
- 3Practise guided writing to the exact word count and prompt structure your city uses.
- 4Learn the listening question types and practise reading the questions in the gap before the audio starts.
- 5Build a personal error list of the grammar points you keep missing rather than reviewing the whole grammar book.
- 1Rehearse on a computer, not on paper, because Beijing and Shanghai both deliver this component through machine dialogue.
- 2In Beijing, plan around the two attempts: treat the first as a rehearsal and the second as the real one.
- 3Practise the retell and short-answer formats until you can start speaking within a second of the prompt ending.
- 4Record yourself and check pace and volume, which are the two failure modes in machine-scored speaking.
- 5In Shanghai, note that the whole component is 10 minutes for 10 marks, so there is no time to restart an answer.
- 1Cover mechanics first: force, motion, pressure, work and energy, which carry the most marks in most papers.
- 2Work electricity as circuit reasoning rather than formula substitution, since the harder questions change the circuit mid-question.
- 3Practise the experimental design questions, which are separate from the practical operation test.
- 4In Shenzhen, remember physics shares a paper with chemistry; the combined paper is 140 marks and you set the internal time split.
- 5Do a timed physics section and record how long the final calculation question took.
- 1Practise the actual apparatus, because Beijing awards 10 of 80 physics marks, Shanghai 15 marks across physics and chemistry, and Shenzhen 20 marks for practical operation.
- 2Learn the assessed sequence for each experiment on your city's list, since marks are awarded for procedure and not only for the result.
- 3In Shanghai, plan for both attempts: two sittings are allowed and the better score counts, so the first is free information.
- 4Rehearse within the real time limit; Shanghai allows 15 minutes for each practical.
- 5Check what you are permitted to bring and where you must stand, because procedure marks are lost on avoidable errors.
- 1If the paper is open-book, practise finding material fast: tab your book, build an index, and time how long a lookup takes.
- 2Do not memorise what you can look up; spend the time instead on applying material to case questions.
- 3Work current affairs into your answers, since the case questions are usually built on recent policy.
- 4In Shanghai, note that the unified paper is only 40 minutes for 30 marks, with the other 30 marks coming from daily assessment across the year.
- 5In Beijing, remember 10 of the 80 marks are the comprehensive quality evaluation, which is earned across the year and not on the day.
- 1Train specifically for the events you have selected, not for general fitness; Shenzhen requires one event from each of three categories covering 16 events.
- 2Check your city's scoring table and work out which event gives you the most marks for the training time available.
- 3Do not neglect the process or daily assessment component: 20 of Beijing's 50 marks and 15 of Shanghai's 30 come from it.
- 4Taper training in the final two weeks before the test so you compete rested.
- 5Confirm the test window: Shanghai holds its unified physical test in April and May, well before the written papers.
- 1Sit a complete set of your city's papers in the real order and to the real durations across a single week.
- 2Convert your marks into a total on your city's scale and compare it against last year's published admission control lines.
- 3In Beijing, check your total against the 430-mark gate for the school-allocated quota route.
- 4Identify the single subject where a ten-mark gain is cheapest and spend the next fortnight there.
- 5Rest one full day at the end of the mock week.
- 1Give two-thirds of your study time to the subject identified in week 12.
- 2Rework every error from your logs across all subjects, without solutions in front of you.
- 3Redo the practical operation rehearsals, since these marks are the easiest to recover late.
- 4Re-read your city's admission notice and confirm the choice-filing dates and rules.
- 5Prepare the school ranking you will file, since Beijing and Shanghai both let you file after seeing your score.
- 1Confirm the exact dates: Beijing's 2026 written papers ran 24 to 25 June, Shanghai's 20 to 21 June and Shenzhen's 26 to 28 June.
- 2Sleep on the schedule you will keep during the exam for the whole week before it.
- 3Carry the documents your city's examinations authority specifies and check the reporting time for each session.
- 4Between papers, stop reviewing the paper you have finished; the next subject is the only one you can still change.
- 5After results, file choices deliberately: Shanghai allows 15 unified-admission choices, and Beijing runs early, quota-allocation and unified admission in a fixed order where an earlier offer removes you from later rounds.
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Best Study Resources
Ministry of Education guiding opinion on senior secondary examination and admission reform
National policyJiao Ji Er [2016] No. 4, issued September 2016. The document that created the junior secondary academic proficiency test, merged the graduation and entrance exams, and introduced comprehensive quality evaluation into admission.
Beijing Municipal Education Commission 2026 admission opinion
Municipal policyJing Jiao Ji [2026] No. 5, dated 26 March 2026. Sets the 510-mark total, the six scored subjects and their marks, the 24 to 25 June exam dates, the 430-mark quota gate and the 2026 intake plan of about 95,000 general and 33,000 vocational places.
Shanghai Municipal Education Commission 2026 admission policy and question-and-answer
Municipal policyPublished 12 March 2026. Gives the 750-mark total, every component mark and duration, the May and June exam dates, the three admission batches and the 50-mark comprehensive quality evaluation used in quota allocation.
Shanghai measures for the junior secondary academic proficiency test
Municipal regulationThe standing implementation document behind Shanghai's annual notice, setting out the subject-by-subject mark allocation and the relationship between daily assessment and unified examination.
Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau 2026 admission policy
Municipal policyAnnounced 17 March 2026. Confirms the move from 610 to 630 marks, the rise in the physics and chemistry practical from 12 to 20 marks, the switch of Morality and Rule of Law to open book, and the 26 to 28 June exam dates.
Ministry of Education annual national education statistics communique
National statisticsThe 2024 edition reports 16.98 million junior secondary graduates, 10.36 million general senior high school entrants, 4.18 million vocational senior secondary entrants and a 92.00 per cent gross enrolment rate for senior secondary education.
National Bureau of Statistics annual statistical communique
National statisticsThe 2025 edition, published 28 February 2026, reports 10.749 million general senior high school entrants and 17.237 million junior secondary graduates, giving a 62.4 per cent academic-track share.
Shenzhen examinations office results and admission portal
Municipal serviceWhere Shenzhen candidates check physical education scores, academic scores and admission outcomes, and where the deadline for requesting a physical education score recheck is published.
Beijing Education Examinations Authority
Municipal examinations bodySets the papers for Beijing's academic subjects, publishes the marking standards, issues the detailed exam timetable that the Education Commission opinion refers to, and runs choice filing and admission.
Shenzhen physical education rules and scoring standard
Municipal regulationThe Shenzhen Education Bureau notice setting the event rules and scoring standard for the 2026 physical education component, published in June 2025, a year before the test.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Preparing from another province's past papers.
Each provincial and municipal authority writes its own papers under the Ministry of Education's 2016 framework, and the mark allocation alone differs by 240 marks between Beijing's 510 and Shanghai's 750.
Treating physical education as a formality.
It is 50 of 510 marks in Beijing, 50 of 630 in Shenzhen and 30 of 750 in Shanghai, which is a larger share than most students assume when they skip training.
Ignoring the process or daily assessment component.
Beijing awards 20 of its 50 physical education marks and 10 of its 80 Morality and Rule of Law marks outside the examination itself, and Shanghai awards 30 of the 60 marks for Morality and Rule of Law and 30 of 60 for History as daily assessment.
Preparing an open-book paper by memorising.
Beijing examines Morality and Rule of Law open-book, Shanghai runs open-book papers of 40 minutes in both Morality and Rule of Law and History, and Shenzhen switched to open book for 2026; the skill being tested is fast retrieval and application.
Skipping the laboratory practical.
Shenzhen raised the physics and chemistry practical from 12 marks to 20 for 2026, which is the entire reason its total moved from 610 to 630, and Beijing puts 10 of 80 physics marks on practical operation.
Wasting the second attempt.
Beijing's computer-based English listening and speaking test gives two chances and Shanghai's practical exams give two, with the better score counted, so declining the first sitting throws away free information.
Missing the components held months early.
Shanghai runs its foreign language speaking test and its physics and chemistry practicals on 16 and 17 May, while the written papers are not until 20 and 21 June, and its physical education test runs in April and May.
Filing school choices carelessly.
Beijing and Shanghai both run choice filing after scores are published and both admit in fixed order, so a student admitted in the early or quota band does not enter unified admission at all.
Overlooking the comprehensive quality evaluation.
Beijing requires grade B for the school-allocated quota route on top of a 430-mark total, and Shanghai attaches 50 marks to it in quota allocation, scored as pass or fail with deductions for a fail.
Assuming the vocational track is a dead end.
Shanghai's independent admission batch includes secondary-to-bachelor articulated programmes and five-year continuous programmes, and Beijing is expanding comprehensive high school classes inside vocational schools that mix academic and vocational routes.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Check the reporting time for each session against your city's detailed timetable, which is issued separately from the policy document. Beijing's Education Commission opinion states that the specific arrangements are notified by the Beijing Education Examinations Authority.
- 2
Plan the papers held outside the main block separately. Shanghai's foreign language speaking test and physics and chemistry practicals fall on 16 and 17 May, five weeks before the written papers on 20 and 21 June.
- 3
For the computer-based speaking test, arrive knowing the interface. Beijing delivers the 40-mark listening and speaking component by computer, separately from the written paper, with two sittings available.
- 4
For an open-book paper, bring the book you have actually tabbed and indexed. Shanghai gives 40 minutes for a 30-mark open-book paper, which leaves no time to hunt through an unmarked textbook.
- 5
For the practical operation test, follow the assessed sequence rather than rushing to the answer. Shanghai allows 15 minutes per practical and marks the procedure; Shenzhen weights the combined physics and chemistry practical at 20 marks.
- 6
For the physical education test, know which events you selected. Shenzhen's 2026 live test has three categories covering 16 events and requires one event from each, and it lowered the scoring standard for 2026.
- 7
Between papers, stop reviewing the one you have finished. In a three-day block such as Shenzhen's 26 to 28 June, the only marks still available are in the papers ahead.
- 8
Budget time by marks, not by question count. Shanghai's Chinese and Mathematics papers give 100 minutes for 150 marks, which is 40 seconds a mark, while its Comprehensive Test gives 120 minutes for 135 written marks, which is 53 seconds a mark.
- 9
In Shenzhen, note the score recheck route and its deadline. The examinations office publishes a fixed cut-off for physical education score recheck applications, submitted through your junior high school rather than directly.
- 10
After results, read the admission bands before filing. Beijing runs early admission, then quota allocation, then unified admission, and a student admitted in one band is removed from the next.
- 11
Keep the 430-mark Beijing gate in view when ranking schools. Falling below it removes the school-allocated quota route, which is the route that admits students from ordinary junior high schools into high-quality high schools.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Place at a municipal demonstration or key general senior high school
The destination most families target, reached through unified admission at the top of the score range or through the quota allocation route. Beijing's quota route requires 430 of 510 marks plus a grade B comprehensive quality evaluation, and Shanghai's quota allocation combines the academic total with a 50-mark comprehensive quality evaluation.
No earnings series attaches to this stage; the outcome that matters is entry to the gaokao track, which took 10.749 million general senior high entrants nationally in 2025
Place at an ordinary general senior high school
The same academic curriculum and the same gaokao at the end, at a school with a lower admission line. Beijing caps public general high school classes at 45 students and sets a floor of 40 for high-quality schools, so class size is one of the few structural differences that is actually published.
Same curriculum and same gaokao, at one of the 15,800 general senior high schools the Ministry of Education counted in 2024, holding 29.22 million students
Place at a vocational senior secondary school or specialised secondary school
Covers specialised secondary schools, vocational high schools and adult specialised secondary schools as the Ministry defines them. Beijing planned about 33,000 vocational places for 2026 against about 95,000 general high school places.
Measured in places, not pay: 6,862 vocational senior secondary schools, 4.18 million entrants and 12.29 million students in 2024
Place at a technical school run by the human resources ministry
The Ministry of Education states explicitly that its vocational senior secondary figures exclude technical schools administered by the human resources and social security department. That exclusion is why the sum of general and vocational intake counted by the Ministry, 14.55 million in 2024, falls short of the 16.98 million junior secondary graduates.
Absent from the education ministry's series altogether, because technical schools are administered by the human resources and social security department
Articulated vocational-to-degree programme
Shanghai's independent admission batch includes secondary-to-bachelor articulated programmes, five-year continuous programmes and secondary-to-higher-vocational programmes, and Beijing's 2026 policy moved its high-end technical and skilled talent articulated programmes into the unified admission batch. Shanghai requires students admitted to the secondary-to-bachelor route to reach the city's minimum general high school admission control line.
The return is a bachelor's degree several years later rather than a wage at entry
Comprehensive high school class inside a vocational school
Beijing's 2026 policy expands comprehensive high school classes in vocational schools and runs vocational and academic integration pilots, building a curriculum aimed at both further study and employment. This is the newest route out of the binary split and the one with the least published outcome data.
Counted inside the vocational school statistics, with no separate line of its own
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Completion of Grade 9 of compulsory education, and registration through the junior high school the student attends. There is no separate qualification, no fee threshold and no entrance test to sit the zhongkao itself; the Ministry of Education's 2016 reform merged the junior high graduation examination and the senior high entrance examination into a single junior secondary academic proficiency test, so every Grade 9 student takes it. The constraint that actually binds is household registration. Each city sets its own rules on whether a student without local hukou may sit the local exam and which schools they may apply to. Beijing operates under a 2012 municipal scheme governing entrance examinations for children of migrant workers who completed compulsory education in the city: those who apply within the stated window and pass the qualification review may take part in admission to Beijing vocational schools. Shanghai publishes separate arrangements for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, who take part in admission under the general rules once registered, and for students holding foreign passports, who may sit the academic proficiency test and state a preference but cannot file choices in any admission batch and are placed by the district education bureau instead; students admitted on a foreign passport are not counted against a school's enrolment plan. Some routes carry additional eligibility conditions. Shanghai's quota-to-school category is limited to Grade 9 students who have been continuously registered and studying at a non-selective junior high school for three years, with eligibility certified by the school and filed with the district education bureau. Beijing's secondary-to-bachelor articulated route and its independent admission categories each have their own qualification steps published by the examinations authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the zhongkao cost?
Registration fees are set locally and are small, but no figure appears in the 2026 admission policies of Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. The Beijing Municipal Education Commission opinion of 26 March 2026, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission policy of 12 March 2026 and the Shenzhen Education Bureau notice of 17 March 2026 all set out subjects, marks, dates and admission rules without naming a fee. Check your own city's examinations authority for the current charge rather than assuming a national figure.
Is the zhongkao a national exam?
No. Unlike the gaokao, the zhongkao is written and administered by provincial and municipal education authorities. The Ministry of Education sets the framework through its 2016 guiding opinion, which merged the junior high graduation examination and the senior high entrance examination into one junior secondary academic proficiency test and required comprehensive quality evaluation to be used in admission, but the papers, subjects, mark totals and dates are local.
What is the total score?
It depends on the city. Beijing's 2026 total is 510 across six scored subjects. Shanghai's is 750 across seven components. Shenzhen's is 630, raised from 610 for 2026 when the physics and chemistry practical examinations went from 12 marks to 20. Because the totals differ, a raw score means nothing outside the city that produced it.
What score do I need to pass?
There is no pass mark. Admission is by rank against places, and each city publishes minimum admission control lines after the examination. Beijing is unusual in publishing one gate in advance: 430 out of 510 plus a grade B comprehensive quality evaluation is required to use the school-allocated quota route into a high-quality high school.
What happens if I do badly?
You enter the vocational track rather than the academic one, or you repeat Grade 9 where local rules allow it. The Ministry of Education counted 4.18 million entrants to vocational senior secondary schools in 2024 across 6,862 schools, and its figures exclude technical schools run by the human resources ministry, so the vocational sector is larger still. Articulated routes exist out of it: Shanghai's independent admission batch includes secondary-to-bachelor and five-year continuous programmes, and Beijing is expanding comprehensive high school classes that mix academic and vocational curricula.
Can I retake the zhongkao?
Not in the same year. Each city runs the examination once, in June, with no supplementary sitting. Retaking means repeating Grade 9, and whether that is permitted is set by local rules on repeat students rather than by the examination policy. Two components do allow a second attempt within the cycle: Beijing's computer-based foreign language listening and speaking test gives two chances, and Shanghai allows two sittings of each practical examination with the better score counted.
How does the score scale work?
Raw marks summed across subjects, with no scaling or equating published. Scoring is compensatory: there is no minimum in any individual subject in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. Shenzhen reports three things simultaneously, a raw mark per subject, a grade per subject and an overall total, so a student can see both the absolute score and the band it falls in.
When do results come out?
Before school choices are filed, which is the point of the current system. Beijing's 2026 policy states that admission is conducted with choices filed after scores are known, and Shanghai does the same. Shenzhen releases physical education results well ahead of the academic ones and publishes a separate deadline for recheck applications. Written papers in 2026 fell on 24 and 25 June in Beijing, 20 and 21 June in Shanghai and 26 to 28 June in Shenzhen, with admission running through July.
Which subjects are examined?
Beijing scores six: Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Morality and Rule of Law, Physics, and Physical Education and Health. Beijing cut this from ten scored subjects when its reform took effect in 2025. Shanghai scores seven components: Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Morality and Rule of Law, History, Physical Education and Fitness, and a Comprehensive Test containing physics, chemistry, cross-disciplinary case analysis and physics and chemistry practicals. Shenzhen scores seven: Chinese, Mathematics, English, a combined Physics and Chemistry paper, History, Morality and Rule of Law, and Physical Education and Health.
Is any paper open-book?
Yes. Beijing examines Morality and Rule of Law open-book. Shanghai examines both Morality and Rule of Law and History open-book, for 30 marks and 40 minutes each. Shenzhen switched Morality and Rule of Law from closed book to open book for 2026, stating that the aim is to reduce rote memorisation and mechanical drilling and to encourage independent thinking.
How much does physical education count?
More than most families expect. Beijing sets it at 50 of 510 marks, split between a 30-mark live test and a 20-mark process assessment. Shenzhen also sets 50 of 630, and for 2026 restructured the live test into three categories covering 16 events, requiring one event from each, while lowering the scoring standard and adding a process evaluation. Shanghai sets 30 of 750, split evenly between daily assessment and a unified test held in April and May.
What is comprehensive quality evaluation and how is it scored?
It is a school-level judgement of a student across the junior high years, introduced into admission by the Ministry of Education's 2016 guiding opinion. Beijing folds 10 marks of it into the 80-mark Morality and Rule of Law subject and requires a grade B for the school-allocated quota route. Shanghai scores it at 50 marks in the quota allocation batch as a pass or fail: a pass is awarded the full 50 by the junior high school, and a fail attracts a discretionary deduction. Shanghai bases it on a factual record report and states that it emphasises process and participation rather than differences in level.
What is quota allocation and who is eligible?
It is the mechanism that reserves places at strong high schools for students from ordinary junior high schools. Beijing allocates at least 50 per cent of places at high-quality general high schools to junior high schools, following a Ministry of Education requirement, and requires 430 of 510 marks plus a grade B evaluation to apply. Shanghai runs two categories, quota to district and quota to school, and limits the quota-to-school route to Grade 9 students who have been continuously registered and studying at a non-selective junior high school for three years, with eligibility certified by the school and filed with the district education bureau.
How do admission batches work?
They run in a fixed order and admission in one removes you from the next. Beijing runs early admission, then quota allocation, then unified admission, followed by a supplementary round for schools that did not fill. Shanghai runs independent admission, then quota allocation with comprehensive evaluation, then unified admission, and allows 15 choices in the unified batch plus a supplementary round. Shenzhen runs independent admission, quota allocation and then unified admission in three sub-batches.
Are calculators or reference materials allowed?
Reference materials are allowed only in the open-book papers, where the whole point is to bring the textbook. Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen do not address calculators in their annual admission policies; the detailed rules sit in the examination instructions the municipal examinations authority issues separately, so check that document rather than assuming.
Can I sit the exam in a city where I do not hold hukou?
That depends entirely on local rules. Beijing operates under a 2012 municipal scheme covering children of migrant workers who completed compulsory education in the city: those who apply within the stated window and pass the qualification review may take part in admission to Beijing vocational schools. Shanghai publishes separate arrangements for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan students, who take part under the general rules, and for students holding foreign passports, who may sit the academic proficiency test and state a preference but cannot file choices in any admission batch and are placed by the district education bureau instead.
Are there accommodations for students with disabilities?
Yes, and they are handled locally. Shanghai's 2026 policy states that supporting documents including special education admission assessment measures will be published separately by the Municipal Education Commission and the relevant admission bodies, alongside the detailed implementation rules and the physical education test arrangements. The annual policy documents set the framework; the operational detail sits in those supporting notices.
Can I appeal or have a paper re-marked?
The published routes are narrow. Shenzhen operates a score recheck for the physical education component, applied for through the junior high school by a fixed published deadline rather than by the student directly. None of the three cities publishes a re-marking process for the written papers in its annual admission notice. Beijing's policy instead places the emphasis on marking quality control, requiring districts to enforce a single citywide marking standard under the Beijing Education Examinations Authority's supervision.
How does the zhongkao compare with the gaokao?
The gaokao is a national university entrance examination taken at the end of Grade 12; the zhongkao is a local senior secondary entrance examination taken at the end of Grade 9. The gaokao has a common national framework with provincial papers and a single set of core subjects; the zhongkao differs city by city in subjects, marks and dates, with totals ranging from Beijing's 510 to Shanghai's 750. The link between them is direct: the zhongkao decides which senior high school you attend, and Beijing's policy explicitly ties its high school planning to gaokao reform requirements, including subject-choice teaching and the staffing and classroom capacity needed for it.
Why did Beijing cut its scored subjects from ten to six?
Beijing announced the change in 2024 as part of a reform taking effect from 2025, stating that all subjects in the compulsory education curriculum plan would be brought into the scope of assessment, sorted into three categories of examination, assessment and appraisal, and that the number of subjects counted in the admission total would fall from ten to six. Before the change, the 670-mark total counted Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Morality and Rule of Law, Physics, History, Geography, Chemistry, Biology and Physical Education, with the higher of history and geography and the higher of chemistry and biology counted.
What proportion of students get into a general senior high school?
About 61 to 62 per cent nationally in recent years. The Ministry of Education recorded 10.36 million general senior high school entrants in 2024 against 16.98 million junior secondary graduates, and the National Bureau of Statistics recorded 10.75 million entrants against 17.24 million graduates in 2025. Local ratios differ: Beijing planned about 95,000 general high school places against about 33,000 vocational places for 2026, which is a considerably higher academic share than the national average.
Success Stories
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Key High School Student
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