Kang Xilian, 68, is a farmer living in a village in northeast China's Liaoning province.

Kang failed to pass the National College Entrance Exam or Gaokao in 1978; 24 years later, he attended Gaokao again in 2002 and was admitted to a local college majoring in landscape architecture, but he refused the offer because it was not his favorite major.

"My best score is 303 in 2009, but I only got 222 last year," he said. This year, he takes the exam for the 14th time, and he wishes to have a good result.