As the national college entrance exam in China, ‘gaokao’, approaches, something else becomes a focus of attention and debate: the red qipao that mothers wear to cheer on their test-taking children.

With the gaokao set to start on the 7th, Chinese online spaces are seeing many more posts about red qipao. Fashion bloggers and influencers have been posting since late May with titles like ‘Qipao styling tips for mothers on exam day’ and ‘Qipao recommendations brimming with a sense of victory’. Some posts have surpassed 100,000 views.

On ‘Zhihu’, a Q&A and discussion site similar to Naver Knowledge-iN, and across various social media, questions expressing discontent also appear, such as “Why wear a qipao at all?” “What do children themselves think about parents wearing qipao?” and “Qipao on gaokao test day: love or pressure?”. Heated debates in the comments continue.

Qipao shares the same initial sound as the four-character idiom meaning ‘As soon as the army unfurls its banner, victory is won’. Building on that, it has become a cheering custom for mothers to wear red qipao and wait outside test sites while their children take the exam. In addition to the qipao outfit, some hold sunflowers, which carry the meaning of ‘moving toward higher places’.

There is also a recommended styling code. Although the gaokao schedule differs by region, it is typically held over three days; on the first day, red, which symbolizes luck in China; on the second day, green, meaning ‘always a green light’; and on the final day, yellow, to ‘advance splendidly’. Some even embroider onto the qipao the desired university, target score, or cheering phrases.

There is even a belief that when men wear qipao the effect is better, and videos of fathers or male teachers in qipao have lit up the internet over the past two to three years.

Regarding the controversy over the qipao custom, one woman wrote on social media, “Qipao cheering is not mere superstition but the most dignified support a mother can give her child,” adding, “While a child sits a grueling exam, the mother also shares the hardship under the hot sun and carries the wish to bring the child home to a good meal.” Some saw it as “simply an act to gain a small measure of reassurance.” On the other hand, there were not a few opinions that “qipao cheering feels burdensome” and “the more actively parents step forward, the more children may shrink back.”

Some say the fervor for qipao cheering is weaker this year than in previous years. It is assessed that pessimismthat even graduating from college makes it hard to find a job and cannot guarantee successhas cooled the enthusiasm.

According to the Ministry of Education of China, the number of college graduates this year is expected to reach a record 12.7 million. The National Bureau of Statistics of China estimated that last year, when the number of college graduates was 12.22 million, the number of unemployed people could have reached as high as 50 million. According to MyCOS Research in Beijing, in its ‘2025 China College Students Employment Report’, the median monthly income of 2024 undergraduate graduates was 5,990 yuan (about $900 (1,200,000 KRW)).

A blogger from Shaanxi Province, ‘Nonsense from a 90s-born’, wrote, “I have watched the qipao cheering and the like for more than 20 years, but this year the mood seems a bit different,” adding, “there is less anxiety, comparison, and nagging, and the buzz at shops near schools that sell cheering items or qipao is also weaker.” The blogger added, “It is not indifference; rather, the mystique around (higher education) has been dismantled.”