Xu Huan, 19, a senior at Ningxia University Affiliated High School, recites classics in Yinchuan, capital of North China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, May 22, 2012. Xu, hailed from the countryside, is among the 9 million seniors striving hard to get through the nation’s make-or-break national college entrance exam, or gaokao, as the test is known.[Photo / Xinhua]

Xu Huan studies hard while eating in Yinchuan, capital of North China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, May 22, 2012. “To most students from the countryside, English is the toughest. That’s why I have to spend extra time reciting English words,” Xu said.[Photo / Xinhua]