Shanghai universities host National Day celebrations

Yang Meiping
Local campuses saw outpourings on patriotic pride as students and faculty gathered for special flag-raising ceremonies and broadcasts from Beijing.
Yang Meiping

On Tuesday, some 34 universities in Shanghai organized special national flag-raising ceremonies and gatherings for students and faculty to watch the live TV broadcast of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China at the Tian’anmen Square in Beijing.

At Fudan University, its Party Secretary Jiao Yang and president Xu Ningsheng led more than 400 faculty and students to brave the rain and attend the national flag-raising ceremony on its campus in Yangpu District.

Jiao, representing the university, paid salute to the revolutionaries and martyrs who made great contributions to the liberation and development of the nation. She also expressed gratitude to those who helped Fudan with its development over the past 70 years.

“When the nation is prosperous, so is its education; when the nation is strong, so is Fudan,” she said.

She pointed out that the university has cultivated generations of talent with national consciousness, humanistic sentiments, scientific spirits, specialty accomplishments and international vision, creating history in many fields in China and the world.

“At this historical moments, we feel there are more important missions on our shoulders,” she said. “We should go all out to strive forward so as to accomplish the missions and create greater miracles.”

After the ceremony, they watched a live TV broadcast of the National Day celebrations at Tian’anmen Square, including the national flag-raising ceremony, a speech by President Xi Jinping, a military parade and mass pageantry.

Huang Shiyun, a master's student at the university’s school of management, said she felt proud to watch the celebrations with her schoolmates.

“I could not help bursting into tears when singing the national anthem,” she said. “Our fate is closely connected with our nation and we should strive with all effort to build a more prosperous country.”

At the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the national flag-raising ceremony was attended by several hundred people despite the rainy weather. They included not only its own students and teachers, but also those from surrounding primary and secondary schools and nearby residents.

Liang Qingxue, a doctoral student at the university’s school of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering, said Huang Xuhua, a former student of the school and one of the creators of China’s first generation of nuclear-powered submarine, sets a good example for her and her classmates to make contributions to the nation while striving for their own dreams.

Huang was one of the heroes who took national medals and honorary titles of the People's Republic of China, the highest state honors, from President Xi Jinping on Sunday.

Attendees sang “Today Is Your Birthday” at the end of the ceremony to express their love and best wishes for the country.

After the ceremony, they moved into an auditorium to watch the live TV broadcast.

This year, five teachers from Jiao Tong were invited to the grand rally in Beijing.

At East China Normal University, teachers and students attended a special national flag-raising ceremony in its indoor stadium, where they also watched the live broadcast.

More than 2,000 people attended the event, including university administrators, teachers, students, children from from primary and secondary schools affiliated with the university, and international students.

Shanghai universities host National Day celebrations
Ti Gong

East China University of Political Science and Law

Shanghai universities host National Day celebrations
Ti Gong

East China University of Science and Technology

Shanghai universities host National Day celebrations
Ti Gong

Shanghai International Studies University 


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