A Chinese high school is being criticized for taking extreme measures to help students prepare for exams.

A senior at a high school in China's Hubei province recently uploaded a photo on the microblogging site Sina Weibo, showing a classroom full of students hooked up to IV bags.

In the picture, students appear to be in class at night, with books piled on their desks and IV drips in their arms. An animated photo also gives an eerie panoramic view of the classroom.

The uploads have since gone viral.

The director of the school's Office of Academic Affairs said the teens were being administered nothing more than amino acids.

"The state grants a 10-yuan subsidy for amino acids to each graduating senior that will participate in the gao kao (National College Entrance Exam). Any student that feels not well can go to the infirmary and take amino acids on the IV drip," he explained.

Getting into a good college is seen as the path to success in China. Results on final exams are the determining factor for admission.

The benefits of using IV drips to boost energy have been questioned, but current research shows the practice isn't harmful.