Peking University, September 15, 2026: On the evening of September 11, more than 4,000 first-year students gathered at Peking University's Wu-Si Sports Field for a 2,026-meter run, marking one of their first shared moments on campus.

Held as the final event of PKU's orientation program for incoming students, the First Run covered 2,026 meters — a distance chosen to mark the year the students began their studies at PKU.

Under the stadium lights and a cool early-autumn sky, the new students took to the track, kicking off their first weeks at PKU with an evening of exercise, camaraderie and campus spirit.

University leadership, including He Guangcai, chair of the PKU Council, and Gao Song, president of PKU, joined faculty members, guest speakers, and students for an evening of exercise and community building. The event reflected a longstanding PKU emphasis on physical education as an essential part of a well-rounded education.

Before the run, students heard from four guest speakers whose careers have been shaped, in very different ways, by persistence and the pursuit of excellence.

Drawing on his experience as an Olympic trampoline champion, Dong Dong, now a professor at Beijing Sport University, encouraged students to strengthen both body and mind. "A strong body and mind give us the confidence to shoulder responsibility," he said, urging the new cohort to use running to steel their will and approach future challenges with determination.



Olympic fencing champion and PKU faculty member Sun Yujie described the First Run as a starting point for campus life. She said that, like a fencing bout, life at university included moments of achievement and stretches that demanded persistence, and that victory was about overcoming the urge to give up. She encouraged students to make exercise a regular part of their routine alongside coursework and research.



Liu Ruochuan, dean of PKU's School of Mathematical Sciences, wished students "dreams in their hearts, a road ahead, light in their eyes and strength in their steps." Ma Ding, a professor of chemistry and a regular runner himself, encouraged them to find joy in exercise and make it part of everyday campus life.





Then it was time to run.

After a lively warm-up, the starting buzzer sounded and more than 4,000 students streamed onto the track, led by 72 student athletes.

The first few moments were a sea of matching shirts and synchronized footsteps. Soon, the formation loosened. Students began to find their own pace. Along the track, school mascots exchanged high-fives with runners as cheers and laughter carried across the field.

With the final chorus and cheers echoing across the stadium, the 2026 First Run drew to a successful close. The event brought the new cohort together, encouraged students to embrace an active lifestyle and marked an energetic beginning to the new academic year.

As the last runners finished, students left the track and gathered on the field.

The rush of footsteps gave way to a different sound: thousands of voices chorusing Yanyuanqing (Ballad of Yan Garden), a song that has been shared by generations of PKU students.

For Yuan Yangzhiru, a first-year law student, that was the moment the evening became more than a campus event.



"When we waved, cheered and laughed together, and then sang under the lights, I knew this breezy evening would become one of my favorite memories," she said.

Just days earlier, many of the students on the field had been strangers — to one another and to the campus around them. Now they had their first 2,026 meters behind them.

There will be many more starting lines during their years at PKU: new classes, new friendships, difficult questions, unexpected turns and ambitions still taking shape. Here's to finding your pace, pushing your limits, and enjoying the journey.

Reported by: Tiffany Yap En Tong, Bao Xinyi
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Photo by: Wang Ziqian, Guo Mengjiao, Gao Zihan, Yang Yizhe, Xu Yifeng, Huang Xinru, Wu Lianliang, Li Jiayi, Liu Yan, Zhao Dongqing