The gaokao runs on June 7 and 8 for most provinces, with some provinces adding a June 9 or 10 for additional subjects. You arrive at least forty-five minutes before each session.
You cannot bring a phone into the exam room. Not switched off in your bag. Not at all. Detection is by walk-through metal detectors and hand-held wands. A watch is allowed only if it is a simple analog or digital timepiece — no smart features.
You will be given a national identity card and a 准考证 (admission ticket). Both are checked at the door. Losing either means a same-morning phone call to a parent to bring backups. Some centers keep spare printouts of admission tickets — do not rely on this.
The room is silent to a degree most students have never experienced. This is not a mood — it is enforced. No pencil tapping. No sighing. No talking, even in the last thirty seconds while you finish. Practice mock papers under conditions this strict.
You may not leave the room in the last thirty minutes of any session. Plan bathroom breaks accordingly. When the bell rings you must stop writing immediately — the invigilator's discretion for lateness is zero.
After each session you walk out and, ideally, do not discuss the paper with anyone. Regret ruins the next session more reliably than any exam question can.