Cashing in: Chinese hotels ‘almost double’ room rates over student demand to stay near gaokao venues

China’s gaokao, the notoriously demanding national exams that determine which university the country’s high school graduates can attend, has sparked a boom in hotel-room rates near exam venues, with some reaching thousands of yuan a night, mainland media reports.

To ensure their children had a good rest during the exams – which started on Tuesday and last two to three days – mainland parents were prepared to pay exorbitant charges for finely positioned hotel rooms that were quiet and had good feng shui, the news outlet China Economic Net reported.

At a hotel close to the country’s elite High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, rooms named “Gaokao Zhuangyuan”– essentially referring to the person achieving the highest exam marks – cost up to 2,551 yuan (HK$3,000) a night from June 7 to 8, when the exams were held.

Despite the prohibitive price, the Gaokao Zhuangyuan rooms were snapped up by some parents two months ago as they believed the name sounded “auspicious”.