A grand gala welcoming the freshmen of Wuhan University was held in the early autumn night of the 15th of September.. The theme of this gala was “Youth and Dreams”, inspiring the new WHUers to start a brand new life here. Over 7000 students had come to attend the wonderful gala, together with their teachers and military training instructors, and this gala would certainly become an unforgettable memory.
Freshmen attended the gala with their teachers and military training instructors
At 7 o’clock, the gala started with the familiar and majestic Yellow River Chorus accompanied by a moving Chinese symphony which reminded the audience the tragic history of our people throughout the past century. After the chorus, two hosts and two hostesses came upon the stage to announce the beginning of gala. They passionately reviewed the 122 years’ history of Wuhan University, expressing their appreciation for those distinguished scholars who regarded Wuhan University as their homeland.
Some of the shows demonstrated the beauty of the traditional Chinese culture. The musical program called “Xing Yun Liu Shui” (floating clouds and flowing water, a Chinese idiom describing the flowing style of calligraphy) acted by the symphonic orchestra, presented a classical melody popular in Hubei Province in ancient times. Bamboo slips moved onto the LED screen, symbols of the centuries-old history and civilization of Hubei Province. The performance evoked respect and admiration towards Hubei’s local culture.
The Yellow River Chorus
In addition, there were some other performances were also meaningful to us, recalling the memory of our people’s contribution to the final triumph in the Second World War. The dance team of Wuhan University performed their show on the famous Chinese ballad, Azalea, reminding us of the arduous years in which the Red Army had fought the Japanese invaders. As we all know, 2015 witnesses the 70th anniversary of the final victory in the Anti-Fascist war, thus it is necessary for us to pay high tribute to our great people, who have made outstanding contributions during that time and cherish the hard-won peace we nowadays enjoy.
What attracted freshmen most was the performance named To Our Youth. The plot was based on a fictitious story depicting a WHU student who dreamed to become a wedding dress designer. The performance featured modern dances and model show. When the models appeared on stage, an extraordinary round of applause burst from every corner of the auditorium. Plenty of students even stood up so as to see the models clearly. As soon as the model show ended, I was lucky to be given the chance of a short interview with the captain of WHU’s Model Team, Mr Li Wenbin. Discussing the purpose of this performance, he said, “We want to tell the new students that the life at Wuhan University is absolutely fresh and sometimes even shockingly fun. Here we are free to realize our dreams through different ways. We may laugh and cry during the process, but, at the end of the day, it is what we experience here that makes our youth indelible.”
Some of the members of the university’s model team
Finally President Li Xiaohong sang a song before the fall of the curtain, in order to express his deep love for our alma mater. We sincerely hope the freshmen will enjoy their start at Mt. Luojia, and make efforts to fulfill their dreams in the spirit of WHU and, thus, become outstanding WHUers.
(Edited by editing group, Diana & Sijia Hu)
