"I'm really furious!" said 21-year-old Li, furrowing her brow as she sipped kiwi juice at a cafe after a compulsory jog that began at 6:30 a.m. "We have completely lost our freedom!"
For Li and other indignant students across the capital, it's not just about sacrificing their time. It is also a reminder that despite China's dizzying economic and social progress, the Communist Party still often rules by command and ordinary citizens are expected to fall in line without question.

Many do so - but grudgingly and without the fervor of previous decades as government fiat clashes with middle-class aspirations.
"Being under the sun for three months, how will this help my studies?" said a poem posted online by a student from the prestigious Peking University. "Who is going to pay for the travel ticket I have already bought? ... I'm angry!"
Yahoo News