The fall in the number of students taking the gaokao will force some colleges and universities to find novel recruitment methods if they want to enroll enough students, education experts have warned.

The annual national college entrance exam began on Tuesday, with 9.4 million students taking it nationwide, 20,000 fewer than last year.

At least 13 of China's 34 municipalities, provinces and regions saw a fall in the number of students registering for the exam this year.