Tsinghua University held an opening ceremony for its incoming graduate students on Wednesday. 

The opening ceremony, which saw welcoming remarks from university leaders and student representatives, was livestreamed world-wide in both Chinese and English.

Tsinghua President Qiu Yong delivered a speech entitled “Give life warmth and strive for dreams”. He asked the students to keep their hearts and minds open for others, uphold the value of fairness and justice, aspire for a more caring world, understand the meaning of life, and work hard to achieve their dreams as young people in the new era.

“Because of the outbreak, you now have a fuller understanding of the meaning of life regardless of circumstances. Experiencing sorrow and joy, life is worth cherishing, caring for and defending with all your might,” Qiu added.

President Qiu also offered students advice on achieving their life goals. “Achieving our dreams will never be realized overnight. We must take short steps persistently every day and eventually we will enjoy a good harvest.” 

Qiu concluded his speech by saying young students would be cherished by Tsinghua and the beautiful Tsinghua campus would be even more wonderful because of the incoming students.

Professor Wang Xinquan of the School of Life Sciences, speaking on behalf of the faculty, said he was hopeful that the students would love their mother country, work with a practical, scientific and rigorous attitude, and have the courage to face challenges.

Chen Xu, Secretary of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee, also attended the ceremony, which was moderated by Tsinghua Vice President and Provost Yang Bin. 

Liu Yidi, a doctoral student of the Department of Chemistry said, " As a new postgraduate student, I hope I can devote myself to research valuable and useful to human society." 

Writer: Sangeet
Editors: Li Han, John Paul Grima, John Olbrich
Photo by: Li Pai, Shi Jiadong, Yang Liying, Chang Zhidong, Huo Yuandong