Gaokao celebrates its 40th anniversary with 9.4 million test takers this year – China’s latest society and culture news

Starting June 7, millions of Chinese high-school students will take the gaokao (高考 gāokǎo), the nationwide college entrance examination. This year, according to Xinhua (in Chinese), close to 9.4 million candidates have signed up to participate in the high-stakes examination. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the resumption of the gaokao after the end of the Cultural Revolution. For more on China’s examination from hell, see The China Project’s primer on the gaokao.

• China making plans to put people on the moon / SCMP
  Official approval and funding for China’s manned lunar mission are on the horizon, said Yang Liwei 杨利伟, deputy director general of China Manned Space Agency.
• Why China’s gays and lesbians are still stuck in the closet / SCMP
  “While Taiwan’s LGBT community has cheered a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, their mainland counterparts are struggling just to be accepted by their loved ones and the authorities.”
• Drug mule caught in China ‘built suitcases out of 10kg of cocaine’ / SCMP
• Chinese designer Guo Pei invited to host haute couture show in Paris / Jing Daily
• Woman gets hit by car, dozens pass by without a care before she gets run over again / Shanghaiist
• Chinese mums cash in on latest and lucrative craze: selling surplus breast milk / SCMP