HSK is held regularly in China and other countries each year. Certificates of HSK will be issued to those who have secured the required scores. HSK and the issuing of HSK Certificates are supervised by the State Commission of Chinese Proficiency Test under the Ministry of Education. HSK is jointly administered by the Office of the State Commission of Chinese Proficiency Test under the State Commission of Chinese Proficiency Test and the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University. The certificate of HSK basic serves as a requirement to enter a college or university in China as an undergraduate student in the field of science, engineering, agriculture and western medicine.
All items are multiple-choice.
During the time allowed for each section, examinees must work on that section only and are not permitted to work beyond the time limit for the section. Examinees are also not permitted to turn to a section that has not been announced or go back to an earlier section. Items 155-170 are a test of comprehension in which blank spaces at regular intervals in a text must be filled in with appropriate Chinese characters. During the time allowed for each section, examinees must work on that section only and are not permitted to work beyond the time limit for the section. Examinees are also not permitted to turn to a section that has not been announced or turn to a previous section.