Chinese students step on balloons to vent stress during an activity before the annual National College Entrance Exam at a senior high school in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu province on May 28, 2010.[Photo/IC]

Next week, millions of China's high school seniors will take the National College Entrance Exam - also known as gaokao. The exam, which will have profound implications for a student's future career, is known to be extraordinarily difficult as each student has to compete with millions of his or her peers.

Under tremendous pressure from family and school to stand out in the test, many students have turned to unorthodox methods to relieve their stress.