YAU League Committee, together with Student Union, College Learning and Practice Team for Yan’an Spirit, and the Association of Student Societies, organized a series of activities to commemorate the 80thanniversary of the victory of the Long March, a military maneuver carried out by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of the CPC from 1934 to 1936. The activities are intended to recall the martyrs to the revolution and prompt the passion for inheriting and practicing the Long March legacy.
In the morning of October 31, an event themed on ‘Upholding Long March Spirit, Striving for Self-improvement’ kicked off. Through gallery, chorus and storytelling, it aimed to inspire the students and teachers with the Long March legacy.
In the evening, a gala to commemorate the 80thanniversary of Long March victory and to welcome the freshmen of Grade 2016 was held in gymnasium. Vice-President Tang Ying and Li Xuefeng, secretary of YAU Discipline Inspection Commission, were present. They encouraged the students to keep the Long March spirit in mind, stick to their original intention and stay the course on their own ‘long march’ of life. While celebrating the brilliant exploits of the revolutionary pioneers, the gala highlighted the vitality of the new generation of college students and their determination to pursuit dreams. It serves as a patriotic education in the form of artistic performance.
In the morning of October 22, the League Committee called a memorial rally on the theme of ‘Upholding Long March Spirit, Striving for Self-improvement’. All the members of Student Union, Association of Student Societies, YAU Art Troupe, the National Flag Guard, College Learning and Practice Team for Yan’an Spirit and Military Fans’ Association, as well as the chairmen of all student societies attended the rally. In the music of the national anthem, the audience all rose to sing in chorus and cherish the memory for the martyrs to the revolution. On behalf of YAU Communist Youth League, Liu Honggao, secretary of the school League Committee, extended his gratitude to the teachers and students for their support. He remarked that ‘Long March is a great journey to pursue ideal and faith and to arouse the public. Each generation has their own long march. No matter where we are, we should pursue our long march. Without spirit, a person will accomplish nothing and a nation will never become strong.’ He hoped that college students develop the noble qualities of perseverance, self-improvement, solidarity, cooperativeness, thrift and self-discipline.
During the rally, all the teachers and students present watched General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the conference to commemorate the 80thanniversary of the Long March victory. The Student Union and the College Learning and Practice Team for Yan’an Spirit performed choruses of revolutionary songs. Representatives of various student societies shared their own interpretation of "the long march spirit".
These activities in the forms of learning speech, singing revolutionary songs and sharing inspirations further stimulated the patriotic enthusiasm of students, who said they will remember the history and strive to be persistent, ambitious and productive. It is learned that the school League Committee will hold in October and November a speech contest on the topic ‘carrying forward the Yan 'an spirit, striving to be outstanding college students", and an essay contest and a painting and calligraphy competition on the theme of ‘love for the Party, the nation and the university’, thus further enriching the campus culture and strengthening the ideological guidance for college students.
