BEIJING - Heavy downpours will sweep over most of the south China in the coming three days, coinciding with the annual national college admission exam.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a yellow rain alert for Sunday and Monday for southern regions including Guizhou, Chongqing, Hubei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang with precipitation of up to 180 mm expected.

Northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Shandong will also be affected by showers, with thunder, gales and hail expected in some areas.

Heavy rain will fall in Jianli, Hubei Province, where hundreds of people are mourning more than 400 people who died in the Eastern Star disaster.

The rain coincides with "Gaokao," the annual national college admission exam which started Sunday for more than 9.4 million Chinese high school students.

The NMC's expects the rain to abate later but linger in southern regions, with thunderstorms and showers being likely in Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces.

The center uses a four-tier color-coded warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.