This global lockdown of educational institutions by COVID-19 has caused overwhelming disruption in students' learning and assessment, which has substantial effects on their academic emotions. This study applied a mixed methods approach to investigate how COVID-19 influences Gaokao applicants' academic emotions in the Chinese context. The study found that Gaokao applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic had strong positive activating emotions, positive deactivating emotions, and negative activating emotions. The results showed that there were significant gender differences in academic emotions, and students' physical exercise was also related. This study found that there was no correlation between the Gaokao applicants' academic emotions and their parents' occupations, parents' academic qualifications, or types of exams. As COVID-19 continues to be a worldwide public challenge, this study has implications on how to alleviate negative academic emotions of students who will take high-risk tests under the pressure of the pandemic.