Three days of hell and it could be all for nothing

In Shanghai, 74,000 students took part amid tight security. Surveillance cameras were installed in every exam hall; not to protect the youth but to spot cheating.

Along with careful inspection of articles taken into the exam, they had their temperatures taken to make sure they weren't bringing in swine flu either.

Shanghai sets its own exams. Examiners are locked away for six weeks to draft the papers in complete secrecy. But a time of great stress for students and parents is also a commercial opportunity for others. A range of hi-tech cheating aids are on offer on the internet. Even copies of the exam papers are for sale.

Unfortunately for the desperate student, these usually turn out to be totally fictitious.

The acceptance rate in Shanghai is usually 80% but stress takes its toll. This year many were reduced to tears after a tough first day and some decided to withdraw completely.

Applicants this year are down 25%, partly from demographics, but also because some have decided it's safer to go for vocational training and grey-collar jobs. Not surprising when the number of jobless graduates rose dramatically last year and prospects for the current one are not good.

One ray of sunshine comes from an unlikely source. The People's Liberation Army, with a standing force of over two million, operates on a strange mix of recruitment and conscription. In the past, this excluded graduates. That's all changed and, with a good remuneration package now on offer, a job in the armed forces has become quite attractive. As long as they don't get posted to the Congo.

* China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines may finally get together. Both shares were suspended last week while "merger talks" take place. Shanghai Airlines doesn't appear any more willing than before but there's no ignoring a Beijing shotgun. The bride's only hope is a revival of Singaporean interest in the groom.

* Figures just released show urban fixed asset investment up 32.9% in the first five months. Not unexpected considering government spending plans on the stimulus. More surprising was investment in agriculture up 79.7%. It looks as though rural reforms are beginning to have an effect even before they are implemented.