On the morning of September 13, the opening ceremony for 2025 undergraduate students of Nanjing University was held at the Fang Zhaozhou Gymnasium in Xianlin Campus. Tan Tieniu, Chair of NJU CPC Council and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), attended the opening ceremony. Tan Zhemin, President of Nanjing University and Academician of the CAS, delivered a keynote speech titled "Carry Forward the Spirit of the War of Resistance, Strive to Become Pillars of the nation."
Around 10 a.m., members of the NJU National Flag Guard escorted the national flag into the venue. The opening ceremony officially began amid the solemn national anthem.
Tan Zhemin extended a warm welcome to the 2025 undergraduate students on behalf of the university and expressed sincere gratitude to the students' families and teachers. He pointed out that throughout its more than century-long history, NJU and its predecessors have always breathed with the times and shared the destiny of the nation, seeking the prosperity of the country and the progress of science and education, making important contributions to national prosperity and national rejuvenation. Over the past 123 years, generation after generation of students have entered NJU, been educated and grown here, becoming pillars of the nation capable of shouldering important responsibilities. The arrival of new students has brought more vibrant youthful energy and more beautiful contemporary style to the 120-year-old university.
Tan Zhemin noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. NJU's wartime memories are not only an unfading monument in the university's history but also a spiritual motivation that inspires contemporary NJU members to fully advance the construction of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics and better serve the country and the people. He hoped that students would draw strength from the patriotic sentiments, tenacious character, and innovative spirit of NJU's predecessors, deeply cultivate knowledge in the classroom, hone skills in practice, inherit the spirit in the name of youth, build achievements for rejuvenation with a stance of struggle, grow as quickly as possible into national pillars capable of shouldering the important tasks of the era, and jointly write a new future for NJU and the nation.
Professor Jing Xudong from the School of Energy and Resources, who is also Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, spoke as a faculty representative. He stated that being a teacher means bearing a heavy responsibility—not only carrying the tasks of teaching and scientific research but also shouldering the mission of supporting youth and achieving the future. At NJU, teachers will accompany students' growth and help fulfill their dreams with all their knowledge and enthusiasm. Jing Xudong encouraged new students to maintain curiosity and never cease exploration, hoping they would cherish the wonderful four years ahead, achieve academic success, and become leaders in various fields in the future.
Student representative Zou Xinyu shared her thoughts on entering the university
University leaders and guests pinned school badges on representatives of new students. All new students put on these badges symbolizing their identity as NJUers.
All new students took an oath together, vowing to inherit the virtues and careers of their teachers, embrace ideals of serving the world, elevate their personal character, and enhance their wisdom and learning. All teachers and students sang the university anthem, wishing NJU continued glory in the future.
Lu Xiancai chaired the ceremony
The opening ceremony was presided over by Lu Xiancai, Vice President of NJU. Those attending the opening ceremony included Academicians of the CAS Xing Dingyu, Shen Shuzong, and Guo Zijian; Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences Zhao Shuming; university leaders Zheng Hairong, Liu Miao, Jiao Ruihua, Li Bin, Wen Yu, and Sun Leqiang; members of the university's "Three-wide Education" Working Committee; the director and counselors of the Student Affairs Center of the Freshmen College; and all instructors responsible for military training tasks.
On the same day, more than 4,000 undergraduate students of the class of 2025 took the subway from Gulou Campus to Xianlin Campus to attend the opening ceremony. Along the way, they listened to vivid explanations about the wartime memories of the Yuhuatai Martyrs, the wartime stories in the Generals' Museum of Yihe Road Community, the deeds of Qixia Temple in protecting refugees during the war, the historical and cultural aspects of Gulou Park and Qixia Mountain, as well as the cultural development context of Nanjing as a "City of Literature." They experienced the revolutional spirit and cultural heritage of Nanjing City immersively during this "journey through time."
Hundreds of kilometers away, 224 ninth-grade students and 15 teachers from Zhangji Junior High School in Zhangji Street, Shuyang County, a project location of NJU's rural revitalization work, watched the opening ceremony simultaneously. The students on the other end of the live broadcast felt as if they were also at NJU, jointly experiencing the profound heritage and cultural charm of this prestigious century-old institution.
