A student poses for a photo before entering the Dayangshu Railway Station on Sunday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After scanning health codes, checking body temperature and passing safety inspections, 425 senior highs chool students, as well as their parents and teachers, boarded Train No K5117 at Dayangshu town railway station in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Sunday morning.

The train was headed for Alihe, a town 135 kilometers away. It has been used every year since 2003 to transport students to the nearest test center for the national college entrance examination, which will begin on Monday.

Railway workers at Dayangshu Railway Station prepare bottled water and stationery for students. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Dayangshu is too small to have its own test center, so students travel to Alihe for the exam. The route has carried about 34,000 students, their parents and teachers over recent years, as conducted by China Railway Harbin Group Co.

To make a rational and effective train schedule, the group worked with all senior high schools in Dayangshue in advance, getting information about the passengers.

Students in the same class had been arranged in the same coach, providing them more time to be together. To make students feel relaxed, train attendants invited them to join in various activities. Railway workers also prepared gift bags for each student, including masks, disinfection tissues and souvenir tickets.

To make students feel relaxed, train attendants invited them to join in various activities. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]