The most beautiful place in the world is the university campus. The campus of Tianjin University in early autumn 2017 is so beautiful and pleasing: the sky is clear, green trees and grass swirl in the light breeze and the lakes are sparkling. Just like the autumn in 1985, when Tianjin University President Zhong Denghua entered Tianjin University. Now an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the President of Tianjin University, he believes that the beauty of Tianjin University nourished his growth. On August 25, 2017, at the welcoming ceremony for Tianjin University 2017 undergraduate and vocational students, President Zhong shared the beauty he has described to the young students who have newly arrived.

Welcoming ceremony in Peiyang Park Campus

A ceremony was held in the Stadium of Weijin Road Campus.

Another ceremony was held at Peiyang Park Campus simultaneously.

President Zhong Denghua delivered a speech.

The beauty of architecture mirrors the university's inner temperament: the towering "No.9 teaching building" on Weijin Road Campus; "Zheng Dong Library", known as the most beautiful building on Peiyang Park campus; and the two “student activity centers” located beside lakes on two campuses. The architecture at Tianjin University is not in composed of strange shapes, rich ornamentation or majestic splendor. Instead, the buildings are tidy and regular, concise, decent and stable, while witnessing other changes over the years. Without finery and flashy colors, they are simple and unsophisticated, standing firmly in place, just like the original shape when they were first built. This is what the campus wants to tell the students: be sure to maintain an attitude of being scientific and rigorous and the spirit of seeking truth from facts; be a TJU student featuring dependability, and indifference to vanity.

"The beauty of Tianjin University lies in the beauty of the campus, I hope you can apply rigorous methods through appreciating the beauty of the architecture. This is the beauty of the architecture that President Zhong wants the new generation to understand and appreciate.

While it is a university with a distinctive strength in engineering, and the campus of Tianjin University is rich in the beauty of science and technology, you can also enjoy art exhibitions and elegant artistic performances in the ivy-covered Feng Jicai Institute of Literature and Art, in the Wang Xuezhong Institute of Art, in the towering Qiushi Hall or in the students activity center, and be exposed to a cross-border dialogue between Chinese and Western science and art masters. Learning in Tianjin University will benefit students through the comprehensive reform of training and appreciating the value of "new engineering". They will also be immersed in an atmosphere featuring a comprehensive, research-oriented, open and international academy, harvesting the inspiration of thoughts of the teachers and masters, cultivating national feelings, global vision, innovative spirit and practical ability." For TJU people all over the world, it is in the common pursuit of “building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics." Because of this, Tianjin University has always been at the forefront over 122 years of history.

"The beauty of Tianjin University lies in its education, I hope you can use the ‘beauty of the atmosphere’ to create ‘a foundation for development’”. This is the beauty that President Zhong wants the new comers to appreciate.

Spirit is the soul of a university while culture is its blood. Peiyang University, the predecessor of Tianjin University, was established when China was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, coinciding with a grave national crisis. Therefore, it shouldered the historical mission of "rejuvenating China through developing education". In the following years, generations of "Peiyang people" or "TJU people" by enriching the spiritual tradition of "rejuvenating China through developing education’’ and then the unique culture of the university motto of seeking truth from facts, the university spirit of “Precise in Learning, Strict in Teaching"; and the tradition of "patriotism" was formed. This kind of TJU spirit fully reflects national consciousness and powerfully focuses the mission of a university. It provides the impetus for the people who belong to Tianjin University or Peiyang University to move forward. The new generation of TJU students are also nurtured by this kind of spirit, and tradition. From underwater glider “Petrel", creation of a comfortable “respiratory system” for C919, the large home-made aircraft, to conducting the first ever space brain-machine interaction experiments, all of these reflect the TJU people’s spiritual pursuit of "taking action to develop the nation” no matter how high the sky, how far down to the earth or how deep in the sea.

"The beauty of Tianjin University lies in its spirit. I hope you can cultivate your integrity through appreciating the culture. “This is the beauty of TJU culture that President Zhong wants the new comers to understand.

Cultivating good habits, forming a sound personality, rational thinking, keen insight and a strong body .Starting university life with more kindness and tolerance. These were the wishes President Zhong Denghua gave to the new comers.

Yao Chunde delivered a speech on behalf of teachers.

On behalf of all the teachers, Professor Yao Chunde described TJU in his opinion as the most responsible, the most dedicated and the most energetic university in China. He also offered advice to all the first year students of 2017:, to be brave in setting ambitious goals, to get ready to face challenges, to upkeep health both physically and mentally and to pursue balanced self-development.

Zhao Tianhui delivered a speech on behalf of students at the University.

On behalf of all the students，Zhao Tianhui, a student from the School of Electrical Automation and Information Engineering，expressed his best wishes and encouragement to the freshman class of 2017, that in the following years, to better themselves at TJU and to do practical work under the guidance of ambitious goals.

Lin Yuyan was delivered a speech on behalf of new students.

On behalf of the students of the class of 2017, Lin Yuyan, a first year student from the School of Architecture, said she would like to make reasonable plans to pursue her dreams in the next years, to consider every choice seriously and to be a follower of the TJU spirit.

University leaders helped first year representatives to wear the university badges.

There was a special ending part for the welcoming ceremony: University badge wearing. University leaders helped the first year representatives to wear the badge, which symbolized the hopes, anticipation, heritage and a new beginning to the class of 2017.

 Editors: Yin Shiyu and Ross Colquhoun