On November 29, Wuhan University's 125th birthday, a celebration gala was held in the small playground of Meiyuan. With wonderful performances, WHUers joined hands to celebrate the university’ s 125th anniversary.
Vice President Tan Guangming, Vice President Zhou Yezhong, Vice Party Secretary Zhao Xuemei, Shen Zhuanghai, Xu Hongxing, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, alumni representatives, teachers and students, all together nearly eight thousand, attended the anniversary.
The anniversary started with a symphonic chorus “Grand school songs of WHU”. Integrating old school song with the new one, it reminded the audience of the old days in 1920s of Wuchang Normal University, the predecessor of WHU. The so-called “old school song” was written in 1919 under the chairmanship of headmaster Zhang Xuan. The lyrics, together with the melody composed by Henry S. Thompson, an American composer in the mid-19th century constituted its magnificence and profundity. “May hey sons be true and loyal To thy memory”, the chorus lingered on and on in the playground.
Grand school songs of WHU
“Read at the foot of Luojia Mountain” was another performance made by students of Affiliated Middle School and Foreign Language School of Wuhan University. This performance combined chorus, dance, sitcom and on-site calligraphy writing, making it an ingenious integration of modernity and Chinese traditional culture, revealing the cultural atmosphere of WHU and its influence. With the vitality and creativity of the boys and girls, the performance won a huge round of applause.
“Read at the foot of Luojia Mountain”
Girls from School of Medicine of WHU dressed in traditional Tibetan costumes performed a Tibetan Dance “Aspirations”, followed by a ballet dancer’s magic show. Wu Ying, the ballet dancer from School of Arts of WHU, wore a black swan dance skirt. Roses, colored ribbons and countless petals poped up from her dance skirt in succession, dazzling the audiences and thus winning a warm applause. Later, an overseas student audience was then invited by Wu Ying to join her on the stage. Finally, the magic show ended in a surprise that a flag of celebrating WHU’s 125th anniversary showed up.
The following three shows were made by the emeritus and retirees of WHU. Elderly professors who have witnessed the development of WHU performed Peking Opera to salute to the old times, and students won an opportunity to learn from WHUers of previous generations. Overseas students from the School of International Education then sang in Chinese together to express their love to WHU on this special day. Students from more than 110 countries and regions wore national costumes, providing the audience with a chance to experience exotic cultures.
Folk music performance from College Students Art Group
Children from the Affiliated Primary Schools sang “Luo Jia Tale”, which was composed by the graduates as a gift to their Alma Mater, recording their love and memories here. Then, dance, poetry recital and songs from College Students Art Group added glamour to the gala. At last, the celebration gala ended with a performance “My Homeland”.
Photo by Chen Haoming
Edited by Wei Yena, Wang Wei & Hu Sijia
