China's national college entrance exam starts on Saturday

This year's national college entrance exam, also known as the gaokao, started at 09:00 on Saturday, with millions of students taking part in it to pursue their dream of higher education.

There are 13.35 million students sitting the examination across China, including 78,900 ones in Beijing.

In Beijing No.19 High School, one of the city's 114 exam sites, decorations are put up at the gate to extend best wishes to the students.

Many students and their parents arrived at the exam site an hour earlier than the start of the exam, and their teachers came to cheer for them to get good grades in the exam.

"We are here to cheer for our students. I hope they can stay calm and win the fist battle. Go for it!" said Li Li, a teacher.

To create a convenient environment for students, four teachers were deployed for identity authentication for students so that they can enter the exam site quickly. Meanwhile, a sun-proof walkway was set to protect students from summer heat on their way to exam rooms.

The school also set up five storage areas for personal belongings and a comfortable waiting zone, equipped with drinking water, green plants and air conditioners.

Police officers and volunteers were also in place early in the morning to guide the traffic and maintain order for the exam.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 20 pips to 7.0108 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.