<P> In 2006, a record high of 9.5 million people applied for tertiary education entry in China . Of these, 8.8 million (93%) took the national entrance exam and 27,600 (0.28%) were exempted (保送) due to exceptional or special talent . Everyone else (700,000 students) took other standardized entrance exams, such as those designed for adult education students . </P> <P> The overall mark received by the student is generally a weighted sum of their subject marks . The maximum possible mark varies widely from year to year and also varies from province to province . </P> <P> The modern College Entrance Examination takes place from 7 to 9 June every year . </P> <P> The National Higher Education Entrance Examination, commonly known as the gaokao (高考) was created in 1952 . </P>

When does the nation-wide college entrance examination take place every year