Hundreds of young Chinese students clutching pens and their IDs shuffled into a testing center in blue-skied Beijing on Sunday, swarmed by parents, joining millions sitting for the national high-stakes university entrance exam.

Around 12.9 million students nationwide registered for this year¡¯s gaokao, according to the Ministry of Education, which for most is the sole determining factor in admission to a Chinese university.

The multiday exam, which began Sunday, drills test-takers on subjects including Chinese, mathematics, English, science and the humanities ¡ª with the tallied scores to be released later this month.