Peking University, September 26, 2020: After 13 years of renovation, Chengze Garden, the new campus of the National School of Development (NSD) and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) of Peking University was officially inaugurated on September 19, 2021. PKU Council Chair Qiu Shuiping, President Hao Ping, NSD Honorary Dean Justin Yifu Lin among other distinguished guests attended the grand inauguration ceremony.
Beginning with the beautiful song Yan Yuan Qing performed by Peking University Student Choir, the ceremony was hosted by Yao Yang, dean of NSD and executive dean of ISSCAD. Several distinguished guests were invited to deliver their speeches. Former PKU Council Chair Ren Yanshen retrospected the 27-year development history of NSD and looked forward to its future breakthroughs in creating the economics with Chinese characteristics. Qian Chunying, deputy director-general from the Ministry of Commerce, spoke highly of the role of ISSCAD in South-South cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition, Chen Mingjie, director of Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, affirmed that the renovation of Chengze Garden was an excellent example of cultural heritage conservation and utilization.
After the ceremony, in the afternoon, a forum was held as an innovative format to celebrate the inauguration of the new campus, which shows that the core of NSD and ISSCAD - collision of ideas. Focusing on the mission and transmission of Chinese economics, the co-founders of NSD made keynote speeches and conducted dialogues with young teacher representatives. Four parallel sub-forums were also held, centered around different topics such as management, finance, healthcare, and financial media.
The evening saw the celebration gala together with an award ceremony, which was held to express gratitude to donators who contributed to the protection and preservation of Chengze Garden as well as the development of NSD and ISSCAD since 2008 when the NSD Chengze Campus program was launched.
At the end of the celebration, the ancient architectural complex and modern teaching buildings in Chengze Garden were lit up one after another. The bright lights symbolized that the once resplendent Qing Dynasty royal garden which was bought by PKU in 1953 is embracing a new life, and that NSD and ISSCAD, standing at a new starting point, would continue the good tradition and light up a bright future.
Written by: Liu Chang
Edited by: Ye Yimeng
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
