Candidates prepare before taking the civil servant exam in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 29, 2015. The written test of China's annual national civil servant exam took place on Sunday. More than 1.39 million applicants signed up for the exam this year, a slight drop of one percent year on year while the country plans to recruit 27,000 civil servants for national-level government organs, a 25-percent increase from the previous year. Chinese people have long regarded government posts as "golden bowls" -- offering stable income and status -- that can only be secured through fierce competition. (Photo: Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
