A high school student stretches during study at a school in Jiaozuo, Henan province on Thursday. Photo: IC Photo

High school students prepare for the upcoming gaokao at a school in Anyang, Henan province on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

High school students surrounded by piles of textbooks at a school in Hengyang, Hunan province on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

High school students take a break from their studies at Hainan Overseas Chinese Middle School in Haikou, south China’s Hainan province on Wednesday. Photo: VCG

Students exercise to take some of the pressure off at a school in Hefei, Anhui province on May 24. Photo: VCG

Students celebrate at a school in Handan, Hebei province on May 25. Photo: VCG

Parents wait with food for their children outside a school in Huai’an, east China’s Jiangsu province on Tuesday. Photo: IC Photo