Forums > Living in Kunming > Gao Kao Weekend Gao Kao results are out today. Some are happy while most others are disappointed. 12 years of schooling summed up in one exam. Very few will retake the Gao Kao (less than 1%) to improve their score. Most will helplessly accept their score and base their entire future on this single Gao Kao score.
Now the students must choose a major and a school within the next 2-3 weeks.
Unfortunately, most English teachers are not aware of how important English is on the Gao Kao. English is 1 of 4 parts of the Gao Kao (both Arts + Science) for a total of 150 points. English has the same value as Chinese and Math. Total score for Gao Kao is 750.
In Yunnan, 80% of students who take the Gao Kao score less than 500. To get into a 1st level univ, a student needs at least 540 on the Gao Kao.
Students who score less than 500 on the Gao Kao are unable to pass the Civil Servant exam as the standards for Civil Service have also gone up significantly.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Real GK Meetup Thursday, June 23 at 1700. We had another successful and positive meeting last night.
Among the participants were Long-Dragon, Ricsnap, Tallamerican, JanJal and myself. Michael2015 and Alexz, we missed you guys last night.
Based on inquiries from prior participants, we are planning to have a meeting which includes wives or significant others. Once we get enough people who are interested we can better prepare for this event and our better halves can also meet and interact with each other.
At times, wives can feel isolated as being married to a laowai is not always easy - Haha! It will be good for spouses to relate and share expereinces with one another and perhaps even begin a support group among themselves.
From a military background, wives always played an important role and they always had a support group to help each other, especially for younger spouses who did not know how to deal with absent military husbands. In the case of Kunming, some spouses are not local and may feel alone without their families or they may need a shoulder to lean on to share concerns from a female perspective.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Real GK Meetup Anyone else wants to join? We are set for this week in the north.
Snapshot: Spelunking in Puzhehei
Posted byAdmission is free unless you want to see the caves and take the boat ride which will cost you 200 yuan.
Holiday operator suspended for violating national tourism laws
Posted byGreat!!! Finally!!! Glad to see this is now finally taking place. My wife and I were trapped in a Honk Kong tour for 2 days with the same type of evil person as described in this article. They held my wife's passport so we could not leave on our own and kept us trapped in a bus for hours were we had to listen to the BS the tour guide had to say.
Around Town: China's last narrow gauge passenger train
Posted byShizui - 石咀 - Stone Mouth - Now that they are building the subway line along Chun Yu Road in Majie I hope they fix the entrance to this station. Few people even know it is there and are probably not aware that they can get on the train at this station.
Right across the street from this station is Horse Racing Park which is still under renovation. There is a nice temple as well as a small zoo which includes ostrich, camels, yaks, and monkeys.
Report: Chinese cities falling far short of air pollution standards
Posted byBelow are the names of all cities in Yunnan — worst to best — included in the list, followed by their rank out of 360 and AQI rating - Here is a good source to choose a good place to live in Yunnan in regards to air quality.
www.gokunming.com/[...]
six air pollutants including PM2.5 concentrations - I would really like to know what the other 5 pollutants are.
And another one bites the dust...
Posted byGreat Title for this article.