Forty-three-year-old Naran from Ulaanqab city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, will never forget the day she received her university admission offer.

"I've been waiting for this day for 23 years," Naran told chinanews.com.

She was supposed to take part in the gaokao in 1997. But Naran, who had been performing well in school, had to give up the exam to look after her mother, who was hearing impaired and couldn't talk, and who became unable to walk and care for herself after a serious illness.

She's lived the life of a herdswoman since, married and had two children. The routines of herding and taking care of her children have kept her occupied over the years. But her university dream never faded.

Fast forward to 2019 and her elder son, Tulga, became a senior high school student and was about to take gaokao the following year.

Naran was determined to seize this chance and decided to sit the gaokao along with her son.

"After talking with my family, I decided to attend tutoring classes to prepare for the gaokao," she said. "All family members, especially my husband, were very supportive. He is my strong backer."

"Sitting the gaokao has always been Naran's dream," her husband, Gaikham, said. "We've been married for more than 20 years. She often talks of and has dreams about taking the exam."