Peking University, August 28, 2022: Peking University officially kicked off its 2022-2023 school year by welcoming 4,457 incoming undergraduate students to the campus on August 28. 

As the new students landed at the university on the crisp and refreshing late-summer day, they instantly infused the campus with a fresh flow of glee, excitement, and vitality. 
 

A student orientation event was held at PKU's Khoo Teck Puat Sports Complex where incoming students got registered, familiarized themselves with each other, and posed for photos with school mascots. A school band was performing on the scene, to the hustle and bustle of the move-in day. 

PKU Council Chair Hao Ping and President Gong Qihuang, among other university leaders and faculty members, greeted the incoming students at the orientation event, extending their warm welcome and congratulations to the new faces at Peking University.  

The incoming students at the student orientation event expressed their admiration for Peking University and shared their expectations of the upcoming campus life. 
 

Zhang Kaiyue

“The ethos of Peking University really impresses me…and I love its free atmosphere,” said Zhang Kaiyue, a freshman from the School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, during an interview with Beida News. The 18-year-old disclosed that skiing on the Weiming Lake (in winter) was what he wanted to do the most at Peking University, and he was looking forward to getting acquainted with like-minded classmates.  

Wang Xinyao

Wang Xinyao, who hails from Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, explained why she had chosen Chinese language and literature as her major. “I am very enthusiastic about the Chinese language and I’m an ardent lover of literature,” she said, adding that, “Peking University to my eye is an open, free, and inclusive place, with remarkable cultural ambiance.” Looking to the future, Wang eyed to immerse herself in academic studies and hoped to make her contribution to society in the future.   
 

Photo taken on August 28, 2022, shows PKU Council Chair Hao Ping greeting international students at the Student Center

This year, 1,258 international students are expected at PKU, including 363 undergraduates, 538 graduates and 357 nondegree seeking students.

Man Sam Yuan, an international student from Canada, shared with Beida News the unique bond he had with Peking University, at a separate student orientation event at the Student Center. “One day in 2019, I occasionally passed by Peking University. Though I didn’t come inside the campus, I was immediately struck by it,” he said, “Ever since, studying here had become my life goal; and doing so is really a dream come true.”

Kozhevnikova Elena

Speaking of her fresh impressions of the university, Kozhevnikova Elena, a first-year doctoral student from Russia who had received her master’s degree at Peking University years ago, said, “I feel like the campus has become even more beautiful, with the newly decorated teaching buildings.”

When asked why she had chosen Peking University for the second time to study her major—(Chinese) linguistics and applied linguistics, Elena’s answer was fairly simple. “Peking University has always been my one and only option,” she explained, “To study and have a deep grasp of the Chinese language, where else shall I go?”

Written by: Meng Bin 
Edited by: Zhang Jiang
Photo: Song Mengli, Liu Yueling, Li Chunhua, Cao Qianqian, Chao Ranran