Shanghai Exam Asks: What Happens After Wishes Come True?

More than 138,000 students across Shanghai sat for the city’s middle school entrance examination on Saturday, confronting an unusually philosophical essay prompt: “After Wishes Come True” (如愿以偿之后). The thought-provoking topic, released on June 20 as the Chinese language exam concluded, asks test-takers to reflect on what happens once their goals are achieved — a departure from the more personal, narrative-driven themes of recent years, according to The Paper.

Exam Details

The 2026 Shanghai Junior High School Academic Level Examination (Zhongkao) runs from June 20 to 21 across 16 districts, 214 test sites, and 4,730 examination rooms. The Chinese language exam was held on the morning of the first day. Local authorities coordinated multi-department support including public security, health, communications, and emergency response to ensure smooth operations. Light rain from the plum rain season (梅雨) fell on exam day, with schools providing temporary rain shelters for arriving students.

A Philosophical Shift in Essay Topics

The 2026 prompt marks a notable evolution from previous years. While recent topics such as 2025’s “Mutual Fulfillment” (相互成全) and 2024’s “I Too Am a Water Drawer” (我也是个取水人) focused on interpersonal relationships and self-discovery, this year’s question asks students to contemplate the post-fulfillment phase — what comes after achieving one’s wishes.

The topic shares thematic DNA with the 2022 prompt “This Is Just the Beginning” (这不过是个开场), which similarly encouraged forward-looking reflection. However, the 2026 topic adds a unique reflective dimension, asking students to look back at what was achieved and then forward to what comes next.

Expert Analysis

Shen Wenjie (沈文婕), Chinese Language Teaching Group Leader and Senior Teacher at Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated High School, provided expert commentary on the prompt. Shen noted that the topic contains a hidden three-stage timeline: making a wish, fulfilling the wish, and the period after fulfillment. “People often focus on the first two stages,” Shen explained. “‘After Wishes Come True’ aims to draw people’s attention to the final stage.”

Crucially, Shen pointed out that the essay topic does not specify a grammatical person — students can write about themselves, others, or even collective historical experiences. “‘After Wishes Come True’ can point to individual life stages, or to historical processes,” Shen said, drawing a parallel to the popular Chinese song ‘Ru Yuan’ (如愿), which reflects on how the wishes of previous generations have been fulfilled and how new aspirations inevitably emerge.

On-Site Observations

At exam sites across Shanghai, principals and parents offered encouragement. Zhengda Foreign Language School Principal Yang Zhengjia (杨正家) expressed confidence in the students: “They usually work very hard and have high expectations for themselves. As long as they perform normally, I believe they can all show their应有的 level.” One parent at Pudong New Area Education College Affiliated Experimental School was overheard wishing students well: “Good luck on the exam! May you have a bright future. Your efforts are irreplaceable.”

Historical Context

The Shanghai Zhongkao essay topics over the past decade reveal a progression from personal reflection to broader social awareness. The 2016 prompt “Didn’t Expect, Really Didn’t Expect” (没想到，真没想到) gave way to 2017’s “Just Like That, Plant a Seed” (就这样，埋下一颗种子), and eventually to more abstract concepts like 2023’s “The Joy of Understanding” (会心之乐) and 2024’s metaphorical “I Too Am a Water Drawer.”

Educational Significance

Education analysts suggest the 2026 topic reflects a broader shift in Chinese educational philosophy toward emphasizing process over outcome and encouraging long-term thinking. The abstract nature of the prompt challenges students to move beyond clichéd responses about happiness after success and instead engage in genuine metacognition about their desires and their implications.

The exam continues through June 21 with mathematics, English, sciences, and other subjects. Results will determine which senior high schools students can attend — a critical milestone in China’s competitive education system.