Peking University, December 16, 2025: As Beijing ushered in the first snowfall of this winter, the Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center welcomed faculty members, students and donors on December 12 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Peking University Education Foundation and celebrate this year’s recipients of the Scholarship Award and the Teaching Award.
Hosted by Piao Shilong, Vice President of PKU, the ceremony featured over 90 individuals and organization representatives who have greatly contributed to the Foundation, representatives of awarded student and faculty members, and PKU leadership, including He Guangcai, Chair of PKU Council, Gong Qihuang, President of PKU, etc.
He Guangcai recounted the Foundation’s successes in driving the University's reform and development, saying that the Foundation has raised nearly 18 billion yuan and supported the construction of 60 buildings.
He concluded, “the Foundation's work has built a bridge passing down the spirit of the May Fourth Movement and Peking University – one that disseminates China's outstanding traditional culture, embraces the world with a global perspective, serves the nation with sincere devotion, and embodies selfless love.”
Reflecting on the spirit’s implementation, Zhang Jin, Executive Vice President of PKU, highlighted the university’s achievements in moral education, research innovation, discipline development, and educator capacity building. More importantly, he pointed out, these accomplishments would not have been possible without the generous donations and charitable support from all sectors of society.
Donor representatives also shared their hopes for continued growth and deeper collaboration with PKU. They were Yu Minhong, Chairman of New Oriental Education Technology Group and Honorary Trustee of PKU, and Zheng Zhijie, Director of the China Office of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Professor Yuan Ming, the teacher representative and Honorary Trustee of Peking University Education Foundation, reflected upon the profound changes witnessed on PKU campus in the last three decades, attributing the incredible transformation to the Chinese virtue of “benevolence” encapsulated in educational philanthropy. “Empowering Peking University means empowering the next generation to tackle global challenges,” she said.
On behalf of the young educators of PKU, Professor Liu Ruochuan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed his gratitude as an early scholarship beneficiary. He cast hope for more support for the deep integration of AI and basic disciplines as part of efforts to build the cornerstone of future development.
Student representatives—Zhou Yujie, Kang Ningyi, Jia Yueru, and Yan Siyu—expressed in their speeches that the scholarship not just recognizes past efforts, but also entrusts future responsibility. They underscored the values of patriotism, ambition, integrity and practicality through their personal stories.
The 2025 Scholarship Awards and the Teaching Awards were subsequently presented by PKU leadership and donor representatives to the student and faculty representatives.
Founded in 1995, the Foundation is one of the oldest and fully fledged university foundations in China. It gives out more than 200 scholarship awards and teaching awards and supports more than 300 research and education projects every year. The capital it raised has helped construction projects all over the PKU campus, such as the PKU Hall, the Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center, the Guanghua School of Management Building, etc., creating an environment conducive to education and living.
Written by: Lee Jie Xin
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Photo by: Li Xianghua, Song Boning
