During the bitterly cold weather, Tianjin University (TJU) has put on “new clothes” to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

A strong Spring Festival atmosphere has been created for the 4000 remaining students on campus.

Colorful decorations can be seen everywhere around the teaching buildings and dining halls of Weijin Road Campus, where plenty of bunting stretches for 2500 meters and the stone bridge of Jingye Lake sparkles due to the covered lamps. Peiyang Park Campus has also been decorated exquisitely with countless flags along the roads and various lanterns and lights illuminating any corners including the central courtyard of Zheng Dong Library and Three Questions Bridge, the stone piers above even painted gaily.

“Over 1000 students from Weijin Road Campus and 3,000 from Peiyang Park Campus will stay here during the Spring Festival.” The counselors and staff members said. “Making sure these students enjoy a happy Chinese New Year are the priorities of TJU!”

All departments, including the Infrastructure Construction Department and the Logistics Support Department, and colleges have effectively decorated the campus to welcome the new year of Tiger. For example, voluntary teachers and students of the School of Civil Engineering, together with the staff members, have hung up nearly 300 groups of handmade flags alongside the trails overnight, all covered with auspicious words. Zheng Dong Library of Peiyang Park Campus has attracted numerous visitors owing to the fascinating lamps, lanterns, and the Chinese knots placed in different positions, delivering love and best wishes to everyone. The hard workers, though not the professionals in lighting project, have resolutely undertaken the challenge at the expense of some giving up homecoming on time, only to prepare a wonderful festival for the stayers at TJU. They have promised to finish the task perfectly, so as to create a cozy home-like atmosphere on campus.

Sun Yuan, counselor of the College of Intelligence and Computing, has become the “painter” of the stone piers on the Three Questions Bridge. “I spent two whole days coloring and painting the stone piers. Actually, I had to half lie on the ground for the bottom of the painting, which was indeed an ordeal of my abdominal muscles,” Sun joked. “But it wasn’t a drudgery at all. Once imaging the exciting faces in front of the chubby tigers on the piers, I feel that all the efforts are worth it!”

In addition, Sun has more been touched by the warm hearts and concerted devotions of all departments: “each stone pier weighs 100 to 150 kilos, which was all sent by the forklift authorized by the Security Department; whereas the School of Architecture unhesitatingly offered the exigent pigments and paintbrushes from Weijin Road Campus to Peiyang Park Campus...” Every landscape has been connected with such affecting stories. Sun added: “all of us aim to show a thriving and warm ‘New Year picture’ for the 4000 or so stayers at TJU!”

Confronting the new changes of the campus, TJU students have all been effusive in their praise. One parent wrote: “TJU has promised to send students home by all means once the epidemic stabilized, and even if some had to stay at school, they would experience an impressive Spring Festival there. These have all been proved by the facts!” Li Yida, 2020 undergraduate of the College of Management and Economic, has updated his Wechat Moments as: “chartered airplane for the returners, star-like illuminations for the stayers—wherever you are, TJU will send the best love to you.”

By: Han Shiyu

Editor: Qin Mian