Portraits of gaokao champions

Feng Yuning. [Photo/edu.hsw.cn]

Feng Yuning, male, was a champion of science in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, in 2005

With a doctorate degree from Beijing's Tsinghua University, Feng Yuning, a former national college entrance exam champion, decided to go back to his hometown due to the high cost of starting a family in the nation's capital.

Now a microwave engineer in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, Feng was born in a small village. His parents are both farmers who were only able to give limited help to their son, academically.

Feng left his village and was enrolled in an ordinary senior high school in Xi'an, thanks to his relatively good performance in the entrance exam and also his first prize in a national physics competition during his third year of junior high.

"I picked the senior high mainly because it was totally free and a boarding school, which saved me from commuting from home to school and also didn't pose extra financial burdens to my family," Feng said.

Feng was crowned provincial champion when he sat the national college entrance exam for the second time, earning a score of 729 out of a possible 750. He had failed at his first attempt.

"I scored 675 points the first time, but wasn't admitted to any university, because I was so arrogant that I applied only for one school, Tsinghua University, and my score fell short of 14 points," said Feng, recalling his unexpected failure in his first try at the college entrance exam.

"Sometimes I feel life has to follow a tortuous path," said Feng, "Looking back I regret about nothing, but feel I gain extra experience."

Advising others on parents' roles in their children's academic performance, Feng suggests it's necessary for parents to help children develop a good study habit and independent learning capabilities at an early age.

"Life is a marathon instead of a sprint, and successes and failures are all just moments in the long river of life,"Feng said.