Gaokao reform helps relieve stress

Eighteen-year-olds in Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang province who are taking this year's gaokao will have the task half finished even before the highly competitive college entrance exam begins this week.

For the first time, the exams will cover only Chinese, mathematics and English on Wednesday and Thursday - the exams for the other three, minor courses were already finished by April.

This is one of the changes introduced in the pilot gaokao reform in Shanghai and Zhejiang, which may be extended to other parts of the country.