The 2 Days That Decide China’s Future - And Maybe Yours (Episode 1)

Описание: 📘 Based on The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China (2025) by Ruixue Jia, Hongbin Li & Claire Cousineau — Get the book → https://amzn.to/4qlLEsS

💥 The 2 Days That Decide China’s Future — And Maybe Yours
Every June, a nation of 1.4 billion people holds its breath. Construction stops. Traffic halts. Even police patrols turn into noise control. For forty-eight hours, all of China becomes silent.

Inside classrooms across the country, millions of students sit at wooden desks, taking the 高考 (Gāokǎo) — “The Highest Exam.”
It is the most competitive test on earth — a two-day tournament that determines who escapes the countryside, who enters China’s elite universities, and who wins the right to a better life.

In this episode, economist Ruixue Jia and co-author Hongbin Li take you inside this extraordinary system — its origins, its purpose, and its psychological grip on a nation.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
📖 How a 1,300-year-old imperial tradition still defines modern China
🏭 Why one exam can lift a factory worker’s child into Beijing’s universities
💔 How families sacrifice everything — even superstition — for a single score
⚖️ Why Chinese parents spend 17% of their income on education
🧠 How the Gaokao produces discipline and precision, but stifles creativity
🚀 Why this exam may be China’s greatest strength — and its biggest weakness

The Gaokao is more than a test — it’s the heartbeat of China’s meritocracy, a bridge that millions try to cross every year.
It built the country’s middle class. But as China tries to lead in innovation, can an exam built for conformity prepare its students for a world that rewards creativity?

These two days don’t just decide China’s future.
They may decide the world’s.

Disclaimer:
This video reflects an independent interpretation of the ideas discussed in the book. It was created for learning and analysis, and is not reviewed or endorsed by the author. The narration uses AI-generated voice for clarity and consistency.