In China, the senior secondary school education follows the junior secondary school phase. It includes academic senior secondary school, vocational senior secondary school and technical secondary school. Senior secondary school education in China is not part of compulsory education and students are required to pay tuition. The tuition fees vary with regional conditions, but generally it is in the range of a few thousand RMB per year.

Chinese students normally need to spend 3 years in senior secondary school. Their primary courses are: Chinese, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and IT. Most Chinese senior secondary schools are public, however, because senior secondary school education is not a part of compulsory education, a number of private senior secondary schools have recently appeared.

Students who want to enter the senior secondary school from the junior program must take the entrance examination. Schools select the students based on their grades and motivation. The exams are administered by the local education offices, which also determine the base line for the selection. Currently, there are more than 30,000 senior secondary schools and 30,000,00 million secondary students in China. The enrollment rate in this age group is above 40%. The Chinese government has been working to improve and expand senior secondary school education for a growing number of students.