Some turtles found a stable fan base among Vietnam's college hopefuls

Imagine pitching yourself against 680,000 people, all over-eager for what you are after! That number comes from the Vietnam's annual college entrance examination, first period.

680,000 college-hopefuls are competing for spots at the 107 schools nation-wide. Only 1 out of every 5 will make it, on average. Others will have to try again, or veer off finding another path, which is "the lower path" in the eyes of Vietnamese. Now imagine how much pressure that puts one through!

Vietnam's colleges are prestigious and very admission-demanding. Not everyone gets in, and for those who manage to, the college's door also opens up a much brighter future, or so they say. 12-graders and try-agains all dream colleges' auditoriums, and some will turn to unusual method in hope of achieving their goal.

Welcome to Van Mieu - the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first national university! Located in the capital of Hanoi, the compound once housed royalty youths only. Now famous for its "great turtles", the site attracts not only foreign tourists, but also maintains a cult following among the local kids. The stone turtles carry on their back the names of great scholars in the past, valedictorians and the likes. It is an honor to have one's name carved into "an eternity".

Believed to bring good luck to college hopefuls, every year, at the beginning of the examination period, Van Mieu draws an exceedingly large crowd of youngsters. They come to rub on the turtles' heads. The gesture, while superstiously bringing good-luck, also boosts confidence among the students. At an unexpected turn, so comes the roar of the government officials.

The relics, being thousands of years old, carry with them the mark of time and have been listed among UNESCO's Memory of the World. But repeated touching and rubbing by the students have shined the turtles' heads to such a gloss that some officials are declaring the relics violated.

Counter-measurement has been taken, but there is no denying the charm of the old turtles. Legally or not, students keep coming for that one purpose. Whether the charm works or not, confidence may itself be a major gain for them. As the old guys enjoying their now-found devotion, there is still no statistic as to how many turtle-head-worshipers actually achieve their goal.