Chinese Chemistry Olympiad¶
中国化学奥林匹克
Official Website¶
Overview¶
The Chinese Chemistry Olympiad (中国化学奥林匹克, CChO) is one of the largest and most competitive national chemistry competitions in the world. It is organized by the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS, 中国化学会), a national academic society registered under the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).
The CChO is included on the Ministry of Education's official "white list" (白名单) of approved national competitions for secondary students, giving it formal recognition within China's education system. It is one of China's "five major subject olympiads" (五大学科竞赛), alongside mathematics, physics, biology, and informatics.
The competition was formerly known as the National High School Student Chemistry Competition (全国高中学生化学竞赛). It adopted its current name in 2013 to align with international olympiad conventions.
Competition Structure¶
1. Initial Round (初赛)¶
- Typically held on the second Sunday of September
- Duration: 3 hours
- Annual participants: ~80,000 - 100,000
- Theory-only written examination covering advanced general chemistry, structural chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and basic laboratory knowledge
- Awards provincial prizes (first, second, and third class)
- Provincial teams (省队) for the national final are selected based on initial round scores
2. Final Round (决赛)¶
- Typically held in October or November
- Approximately 6 days including registration and closing ceremony
- Both theory (approximately 4 hours) and practical/experimental (approximately 4 hours) examinations
- Approximately 340 students from all provinces, plus representatives from Hong Kong and Macau
- Awards gold, silver, and bronze medals (typically over 100 gold, 130+ silver, and 100+ bronze)
- The top ~50 students by total score are selected for the national training team
3. National Training Team (国家集训队)¶
- 50 students
- Intensive training camp covering advanced theory and laboratory techniques
- From the 50 trainees, 4 students are selected through theoretical examinations, experimental examinations, physical fitness tests, and medical check-ups
| Stage | Approximate Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Initial round | ~80,000–100,000 |
| Final round | ~340 |
| National training team | 50 |
| IChO team | 4 |
Student Outcomes and University Admission¶
Top performers in the Chinese Chemistry Olympiad receive significant advantages in China's university admission system:
- Guaranteed admission (保送): Only the 50 members of the national training team receive guaranteed admission to top Chinese universities without taking the national college entrance examination (高考 / Gaokao). The most common destinations include Tsinghua University (清华大学), Peking University (北京大学), and the University of Science and Technology of China (中国科学技术大学).
- Strong Foundation Plan (强基计划): Finalists who do not reach the training team may receive priority admission or score bonuses through this program at elite universities.
- Provincial prize holders: Students with provincial-level awards may benefit from bonus-point policies or priority consideration, though these benefits have been progressively reduced in recent policy cycles.
History¶
- 1984: The Chinese Chemical Society organized the first national high school chemistry competition, originally named 全国高中学生化学竞赛.
- 1987: China participated in the IChO for the first time (19th IChO, Veszprém, Hungary), winning 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal.
- 1995: China hosted the 27th IChO in Beijing — the first time the international competition was held in China.
- 2013: The competition was renamed to 中国化学奥林匹克 (Chinese Chemistry Olympiad) to align with international olympiad conventions.
- 2014: Following a national policy revision, guaranteed admission (保送) privileges were restricted to the 50-member national training team only.
- 2022: China hosted the 54th IChO in Tianjin, organized by Nankai University on behalf of the CCS.
Lifetime medal totals from the official IChO results database:
| Medal | Count |
|---|---|
| Gold | 123 |
| Silver | 29 |
| Bronze | 4 |
| Honorable mention | 0 |
| Total | 156 |
China is one of the most successful nations in IChO history, regularly winning multiple gold medals per cycle.
Past Exam Archive¶
Although China ranks the top in IChO, its national exam organizer does not publicly maintain the archive very well, especially for the national rounds and the national training camps.
| Year | Provincial Round | Solution | National Theory |
Solution | National Experiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | |||||
| 2026 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2025 | Link | Link | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | |
| 2024 | Link | Link | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | |
| 2023 | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | |
| 2022 | Link | Link | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | |
| 2021 | Link | Link | Session1 Session2 | Session1 Session2 | |
| 2020 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2019 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2018 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2017 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2016 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2015 | Link | Link | Link | Link | Question Solution |
| 2014 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2013 | Link | Link | Link | ||
| 2012 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2011 | Link | Link | Link | Link | |
| 2010 | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| 2009 | Link BackupExam | Link BackupExam | Link | Link | |
| 2008 | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| 2007 | Link | Link | Link | ||
| 2006 | Link BackupExam | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| 2005 | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| 2004 | Link | Link | Link | ||
| 2003 | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| 2002 | Link | Link | Link | ||
| 2001 | Link | Link |