China’s make-or-break national college entrance exams start on Thursday and will take place across the mainland through Saturday.
This will be the most important exam in many students’ lives, an assessment that can set the course for their future.
But while millions will cope with the test by studying, studying and studying some more, others will be trying to cheat their way to success.
Even though cheating carries a punishment of up to seven years in jail under Chinese law, there’s no end to the schemes some will use to gain an edge.
But even as the methods of cheating change, the authorities, too, are updating their technologies and tactics to keep up.