On the evening of December 31, poured in series of cultural activities to mark ZZU 2019 New Year’s Day. University leaders Niu Shucheng, Qu Lingbo, Li Xingcheng, Jia Shaoxin, Zhang Qianhong, Gu Zhenqing, Xu Dongsheng, Guan Shaokang, Han Guohe, Wu Hongyang and Zhao Minghao attended and joined the masses of teachers and students to welcome the New Year.

At nearly 19:00, more than 3, 000 teachers and students have gathered in the central gymnasium of the main campus. Academician President Liu Jiongtian who were visiting overseas delivered a New year Speech for 2019 by video. He said that in the past year, ZZU has undergone 90 years of running a school and entered a new journey of 100 years. The construction of “first-class universities” and the joint construction of “provinces and the Ministry of Education” has been officially launched, and the development of the university has embarked upon a new stage. ZZU has made great efforts in adhering to promoting high-quality development with high-quality party construction, upholding academic-based orientation and innovative development, persisting the development of open education and internationalization, firmly promoting first-class disciplinary construction, striving to creaｔe a first-class construction culture, and steadily advancing the joint construction work of provinces and the Ministry of Education. The efforts above have witnessed the continuous fortification of the construction of teaching staff and steady improvement of the quality of personnel training, and significant elevation of the comprehensive strength and university reputation. He noted, 2019 will be a key year for the development and first-class construction, and he hoped that all ZZU people will pitch in and forge ahead with one heart and one mind to pay tribute to the 70th anniversary of the great motherland with outstanding development achievements.

At 19:00, the recognition ceremony of advanced collective and advanced individuals for student work in the 2017-2018 academic year of ZZU was solemnly held at the Central Gymnasium, presided over by Vice President Zhang Qian Hong. Guan Shaokang, member of the Standing Committee of ZZU Party Committee and Vice President, read out the commendation decisions. Secretary Niu Shu presented awards to all advanced units of student work. The other leaders presented awards to other advanced units and individuals. In his speech, Jia Shaoxin, Deputy Secretary of ZZU’s Party Committee, summed up the achievements made in student work in the past year and expressed his hopes for the work in the New Year.

Subsequently, ZZU 2019 New Year’s Day Gala kicked off in the Central Gymnasium. The party closely followed the theme of 40 years of reform and opening up, and was divided into three chapters: “Mountain and River Flourishing with Reform”, “Deep Love of ZZU”, “Forging Ahead Today”, implying that ZZU, on its new journey of building a first-class university, adhering to the reform and innovation spirit of the times, is advancing with big strides and head up to creaｔe a beautiful future.

Near 23:00, there was a lot of clamors and cheers on Yuanhe Square. tens of thousands of teachers, students, staff and ZZU alumni gathered around the bell tower to welcome the arrival of the New year at the bell party. Under the attention of all eyes, Qu Lingbo, member of ZZU’s Party Committee and Vice President, Li Xingcheng, Deputy Secretary of ZZU’s Party Committee and Chairman of ZZU Trade Union, and Gao Bo, Zhengzhou warship political commissar, a military and civilian co-construction unit of Zhengzhou University, Zuo Qiting, head of the Huang Danian team of teachers in Chinese colleges and universities, professor at the School of Water Conservancy and Environment of ZZU, Zhou Rongfang, a special prize winner in the skills Competition for Teachers of ideological and political Theory in Colleges and Universities in Henan Province and a teacher at the School of Marxism, ZZU, Cao Chaoyang, an outstanding student award winner at Baosteel and an undergraduate of ZZUˊs 2015 School of Information Engineering, climbed the bell tower and chimed the New year bell.

As one of the campus cultural brand projects, New Year’s Day series of cultural activities in Zhengzhou University have become an important part of the spiritual life of teachers and students. From the 27th to 29th, the North Campus, the South Campus and the East Campus successively held cultural activities such as New year’s gala; on the evening of the 27th, New Year’s Day opera evening in the Learning Hall of South Campus was presented as a feast of traditional culture for the masses of faculty and students. On the evening of the 30th, the New year’s Symphony Concert of ZZU was held in the Central Gymnasium for the first time, also the first performance of the symphony concert on main campus, which aroused wide attention and high praises from the masses of students and staff, thus adding elegant and new cultural elements to the series of activities.（translator Song Gencheng）