More than 9 million students sat China's notoriously tough college entrance exams today, with "high-flyer" rooms, nannies and even intravenous drips among the tools being employed for success. 

With just 6.85 million university spots on offer this year, competition for the top institutions is intense, and attempts to cheat are rife -- 1,500 people have been arrested on suspicion of selling transmitters and hard-to-detect ear pieces. 

Parents and students this year are also resorting to some outlandish but legal methods to ensure nothing goes  wrong in the make-or-break two-day exam. Students have reportedly been given pre-exam injections and intravenous drips designed to boost energy  levels, while girls have resorted to hormone injections and birth control pills to delay menstruation.