Tsinghua University held a grand gala to celebrate its 110th anniversary on the night of April 25 at Zijing Sports Field.

The gala was composed of 15 segments in four parts, “Origin: Source of the Spirit,” “Campus: Path of Youth,” “Destiny: Ties of Kinship” and “Union: A Dream of Time and Space.”

It began with a colorful light show that included an approaching animated bus, signifying the arrival of alumni guests at the venue.

Accompanied by Guan Xia’s masterpiece First Symphony Overture played by Tsinghua’s symphony orchestra, more than a dozen senior alumni and teachers walked onto the stage. They received a warm ovation from the audience and flowers from student representatives as a tribute to their immeasurable contributions.

Among them were outstanding alumni representatives, academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and senior liberal arts professors.

After the opening performance, precious historical images of Tsinghua were presented to the audience.

Later, a drama titled Conversations Across Time and Space in 2021 told the stories of four alumni - Liang Qichao, Wen Yiduo, Deng Jiaxian and Nan Rendong, each representative of Tsinghua at different stages of its history.

The famous pop singer Li Jian, who is also a Tsinghua graduate, contributed a song he composed for his alma mater’s 110th anniversary at the event. The lyrics of the song were written by another alumnus, Xu Rongkai, who is the former governor of Yunnan province.

One of the gala’s most touching moments came when young Tsinghua students joined hands with middle-aged and senior alumni to present the audience with a performance titled We Are Young, which consisted of three songs.

The first song was written and sung by current students, while the second song was the latest work of Shuimu Nianhua, a famous Chinese band whose members are all Tsinghua graduates. It was the first time the band performed as a trio.

The third song was a combination of songs sung by senior members of Tsinghua University’s Shanghai Alumni Association Art Troup; video clips of the group’s past performances have gone viral on the internet. The average age of its members is 76 and the oldest member is 91 years old. Members of the group all devoted their youth to the construction of their motherland.

In another segment titled I Report my Work to my Alma Mater, 13 alumni representatives from different age groups shared their own stories with the audience. Among them were the famous translator Xu Yuanchong, who just celebrated his 100th birthday, Chen Houqun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Zhang Tao, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Chen Wei, recipient of the national honorary title "People’s Hero",  Yang Yang, the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, and Tan Xuefeng, who was honored as a national-level outstanding individual in China’s poverty-eradication campaign.

After the performances, the Tsinghua alumni in the audience who graduated from 10 to 60 years ago also made their reports in groups.

The gala ended with a performance of the song My People, My Country by pupils from the elementary school affiliated to Tsinghua University. The young singers were later joined by the audience in waving Chinese national flags and Tsinghua flags.

There were also 130 actor volunteers who interacted with the audience during some performances.

The gala night was broadcast live on multiple social media platforms.

Editors：Li Han, Guo Lily, Sangeet, John Olbrich

Photo by Li Pai