National College Entrance Examination examinees finish first day test(1/3)

Examinees of National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE) walk out of exam rooms after sitting the first test at Nanjing No. 9 Middle School in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, June 7, 2012. The NCEE, also known as "gaokao" in Chinese, is regarded as a destiny-shaping event for high schoolers. About 9.15 million people will take the exam on June 7 and 8 this year to vie for 6.85 million vacancies in the country's universities and colleges, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday. This year's admission rate is up nearly 3 percent year-on-year, and the number of exam takers is down by 2 percent, the statement said, adding that there are more applicants from relatively underprivileged western regions. (Xinhua/Sun Can)