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PKU Today in History - a daily column featuring historic events regarding PKU and PKUers.

1998 – PKU mountaineering team starts a summit journey

A Peking University mountaineering team headed for Tibet to climb the world’s sixth highest peak on March 20, 1998.

The Cho Oyu Peak

Mountaineers returned to PKU, coinciding with the university's centennial (File photo)

The Cho Oyu Peak is located on the border between China and Nepal. Three PKU-trained climbers reached the summit of Cho Oyu Peak, 8,201 meters above sea level a month later. They set a world record of college students climbing mountains of over 8,000 meters.

Founded on April 1, 1989, the PKU Mountaineering Association (Shanying She, originally known as Dengshan Xiehui) was the first such student society in China.

1948 – PKU students inaugurated an independent journal

The PKU Bimonthly was an influential journal run by PKU students. The journal was started by the Peking University Autonomous Student Union on March 20, 1948.

Comprising 17 comments, poems, and news reports, the inaugural issue said: “We won't surrender or give up; we want to inform the Chinese people of our indignation, longing, and requests.”

The journal (File photo)

Though it only lasted six months, the journal published several articles advocating patriotism, unity, and progress. Aligned with other university journals held by student unions of different universities, the bimonthly published a considerable number of progressive articles in its mere 11 issues. The articles protested the blacklisting and student arrests practiced by then Kuomintang authorities.

Due to financial difficulties, the PKU Bimonthly ceased publication on October 1, 1948, one year before the founding of the People's Republic of China. At the same time, a new journal named United News of PKU and Tsinghua was established, which "belonged to all the faculty and students of Peking University and Tsinghua University," according to its editor's note.

Translated by: Wang Yimian

Edited by: Jacques

Source: PKU News (Chinese)