Class Of '77 Revels In Memories Of Event That Changed Lives

Forty years ago, the gaokao, the national college entrance exam, was revived after an 11-year hiatus, now seen as a turning point for a generation, and for China. Zhao Xinying and Luo Wangshu report.

Although Liu Haifeng, director of the Institute of Education at Xiamen University, has won a host of achievements and been awarded many honorary titles during his academic career, he firmly believes his success is the result of an event that occurred four decades ago.

In the winter of 1977, the then-18-year-old hopeful was one of 5.7 million people who walked into exam halls nationwide to take the first gaokao given in more than 10 years, after it was suspended during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).