China Insight
Divorce Boom after Gaokao: When Exams Are Over, Chinese Parents Finally File for Divorce
Many netizens think it is harmful that parents postpone divorce “for the sake of the child.”
Since the national exams are over, people are lining up at city halls across China to file for divorce. The gaokao (高考), the national higher education entrance examinations, are such an important moment for families that many parents postpone their divorce plans for the sake of their children’s exam.
The gaokao (literally: ‘higher exams’) are a prerequisite for entering China’s higher education institutions and are usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school. Scoring high grades for this exam can give high school students access to a better college, which enlarges their chances of obtaining a good job after graduation.
Because the exam results are potentially life-changing, the period leading up to the gaokao is generally a highly stressful time for students and their parents. According to Chinese media outlet Global Times, parents do not want to add to the stress by divorcing before this important exam.
Another reason is that many parents feel that a large part of their duty as parents is completed after their children’s exam; it is the end of high school and a start of their child’s adult life. As studies show, there is a generally negative attitude towards divorce in Chinese culture where “keeping a family whole” is emphasized – even if that family is a really unhappy one.
This year is no exception in China’s post-exam divorce boom; previous years showed a similar divorce trend in the period following the conclusion of the national exams in mid-June, Sohu News reports, showing that many parents stay together for the sake of their children’s education.
In fact, the post-exam divorce boom is so common that there is a term for the phenomenon; those parents who get divorced after the gaokao are called “the gaokao divorce tribe” (高考离婚族).
The Wikipedia-like Baidu page explaining the phenomenon describes it as a “growing trend” for Chinese parents to get divorced in the post-exam period from late June to September.
It is common for Chinese parents to wait to divorce until their children finish their exams.
The topic has become a much-discussed one on Chinese social media today, where many netizens say that postponing divorce “because of the kids” (“为了孩子”) is actually harmful, as it also adds to the burden of children who feel they are the reason their parents not being happy.
“If you no longer love each other, why would you fake it and continue living together?”, one Weibo commenter said: “It is not good for a child to live in such a family.”
“Don’t stay together for the child – it is very strenuous for them to see you fighting every day,” others write.
Some also condemn those who get divorced after being together for so long. “What’s up with this society? Do people really think they’ll find someone more suitable after being together for so long?”
Among the thousands of comments, there are those from children of divorced parents who share their perspectives on this news. “As a child who grew up with parents arguing all the time,” one person writes: “I can only tell you one thing: if you want to divorce, do it, and don’t stay together ‘for the sake of the child.'”
By Manya Koetse and Miranda Barnes
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Chapter Dive
Red Carpet, Pandas, and Power: How China Read the Trump-Xi Summit
On Chinese social media, Washington’s red-carpet reception wasn’t just diplomacy but read as recognition of China’s restored status on the global stage.
Originally published in the Eye on Digital China newsletter on Sunday, September 27, 2026. Want to receive the next edition in your inbox? Become a paid subscriber here.
The past week was all about the Trump-Xi meeting in Washington. On mainstream Chinese social media feeds, much of the focus wasn’t on what was discussed, who gained what, or what was promised. It was about: How was China welcomed? How far did they go? How exceptional was the reception? And what does this say about China’s status as a major power on the world stage today?
Symbolic moments mattered more than strategic talks. Within that framework, President Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, hit the right notes.
The US visit by Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan began on Wednesday (Sep 23), with Donald Trump and the First Lady personally welcoming them at Joint Base Andrews, a highly unusual move. Presidents typically receive foreign leaders at the White House; in recent decades, airport welcomes at Andrews have been reserved almost exclusively for popes. The last comparable presidential welcome was Kennedy’s 1962 greeting of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, a particularly close US ally at the time.
Wednesday’s welcome came with a red carpet, which members of the US military meticulously inspected and cleaned on their hands and knees right before Xi and Peng’s arrival. A photo of that scene was widely shared on Chinese social media, where many netizens seemed both bemused and struck by the sight of Americans quite literally bending over backward for their Chinese guests, with one popular Weibo account (@提刀探花在缅北) writing: “This is a scene that we will remember for decades.”
Red-carpet preparation at Joint Base Andrews
At the White House welcome ceremony on Thursday (Sep 24), where both leaders delivered remarks, Trump touched on the history of war and mentioned the American volunteer fighter group in China — the Flying Tigers — saying:
🗣️ “If we focus on our common interest, I’m confident there is much we can achieve. Throughout history, the pursuit of those common interests has connected our people across the vast oceans, across big, tremendous distances and many differences, and even made us allies in World War II. Look at the greatness we had together fighting in World War II.”
After the Washington summit concluded, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling the meeting one of “Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the U.S.A.,” and adding that he looked forward to the next US-China meeting in November.
Historical Memory at the White House
But why did the special treatment given to the Chinese delegation in the US seem to matter so much in China, especially considering the ubiquitous anti-American sentiment of recent years? Not only did official media highlight it, but it also resonated strongly with netizens and became the defining story about this meeting on social media.
It goes much deeper than flattery.
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tiodepijama
July 5, 2018 at 7:47 pm
it seems to me that the future is a girl alone with her kid. the woman wants the kid, not the husband. these modern women who make money do not want the bad part of a marriage.
Mickey D
July 7, 2018 at 3:34 pm
I advise young people to take this very seriously. It is the result of arranged marriages, some cultures still haven’t learned rarely work. Don’t let your parents and other relatives tell you who and when to marry. If you have access, search the many matchmaking sites for ‘Chinese women searching for a foreign husband.’ The majority of the women, from late 20s on up, are divorced. Why do they want a foreign husband? It’s common knowledge that some just want to live in the West and other democratic countries. But ask them that question, and they’ll tell you their belief: “foreign men treat women better than Chinese men.” The fact is, many Chinese husbands have “sisters,” girlfriends on the side. The rich ones have mistresses. The reason again, is arranged marriages. The parents push their kids to marry by their mid-20s. A 23 yr. old colleague told me, once a women makes her age, her parents start pushing her to get married. In her case, she met someone through a friend. The couple is expected to pop-out a baby as soon as possible. And like in most of the world, it really doesn’t matter if the baby arrives less than 9 months after the marriage. The parents think the child will keep the loveless marriage together. Ain’t working.