Wave of Mourning Among Test-Takers as China’s ‘Admissions Strategist’ with 26 Million Followers Dies: “A Beacon of Hope for Poor Students”

Following the death of Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese "admissions influencer" with tens of millions of subscribers, a wave of mourning has swept through the country's youth. Zhang Xuefeng was widely known as a strategist who helped students with their admissions strategies, and he was especially considered a beacon of hope for underprivileged students who had little access to advanced admissions guidance.

Chinese college admissions consultant Zhang Xuefeng. Douyin capture

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The BBC reported on March 28 (local time) that Chinese admissions strategy consultant Zhang Xuefeng had passed away on March 24. Zhang Xuefeng reportedly died suddenly of cardiac arrest while exercising.

After news of his death broke, an outpouring of grief flooded local online platforms. The hashtag "#ZhangXuefengDeath" and related posts quickly surpassed 600 million views. Most of those posting condolences were young people in their twenties, such as college students and test-takers. They expressed their sorrow by saying, "Zhang Xuefeng changed the lives of countless ordinary families," and, "Thanks to Zhang Xuefeng, I found hope." During his lifetime, Zhang Xuefeng was an influencer on China's largest social networking service, Douyin, where he had 26 million subscribers.

Students who took the Chinese university entrance exam known as 'Gaokao' are leaving an exam site in Beijing under the guidance of teachers and administrative staff. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

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Born in 1984, Zhang Xuefeng grew up in a small village in Heilongjiang Province, China. After majoring in civil engineering at Zhengzhou University, he started his career as an instructor at a private academy and soon made a name for himself as an admissions consultant.

The reason he became known as a symbol of hope for tens of millions of young people was his outstanding admissions strategies. He developed strategies for taking the Gaokao, China’s national university entrance exam. Although his consulting fees ranged from 11,999 yuan (approximately 2.6 million won) to 17,999 yuan (about 3.92 million won)-considered very expensive-his services remained in high demand.

The Gaokao is not simply a single exam. With over 800 majors and more than 3,000 universities to choose from, there are more than two million possible combinations. Because of this, students who lack information face the risk of being disadvantaged. Zhang Xuefeng emphasized the importance of a solid application strategy over simply achieving a high Gaokao score, highlighting the necessity of consulting services.

However, Zhang Xuefeng was not always met with praise. He publicly asserted that humanities majors were "just for service jobs" and went so far as to say, "If someone insists on studying journalism, I would rather force them to choose another major. Anything is better than journalism," openly disparaging some fields of study. Some critics accused him of reducing formal education to nothing more than a means for passing entrance exams.

Nevertheless, China’s younger generation continues to support his uncompromisingly pragmatic perspective. One online user commemorated him, saying, "He merely lifted the veil and revealed the reality of Chinese society," and added, "He gave invaluable advice to ordinary people for whom mistakes are hardly tolerated."

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