Almost 10 million Chinese high school students are sitting the gaokao, China’s college entrance exam, between now and Saturday.

In Shanghai, the city rearranging itself around the exam: around 50,000 students are taking an English test on Friday.

The streets are blocked surrounding the exam centers to create a quiet zone. Security guards guide away cars and motorcycles, and parents wait anxiously outside the school gates.

This is a test that could potentially change lives of these teenagers, who have worked for 12 years all for a single exam.

We talk to some of them, and their parents, to find out how they feel about these momentous few days.

Go China - Shanghai

12 years of study, all for a single exam