BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- China's annual college entrance exam began Friday as an estimated 10 million students sat the critical exam needed to pursue their higher education.

The exam will last two days generally across China but, due to different arrangements in some provincial regions it may run until Sunday, the Ministry of Education said.

The number of students applying to take the exam this year is the highest since 2010, according to an annual report published by www.eol.cn, an education information service provider.