On the morning of May 17, the ceremony of the “80^th Anniversary of the Westward of National Central University” was held at the “Westward Memorial” of Chongqing University. Executive vice secretary of the Party Committee of Southeast University, Liu Bo and Shu Lichun, executive vice secretary of Chongqing University attended the ceremony. Group members of the “Revisiting the Westward Road” of Southeast University, the relevant departments’ officials, alumni representatives and representatives of Chongqing University faculties and students also attended the meeting. The ceremony was presided over by Mao Huixi, minister of propaganda department of the Party Committee of Southeast University.

Ms. Liu Bo said:” Today, Southeast University is about to celebrate the 115^th anniversary. We meet here to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the Westward of National Central University.” She pointed out that revisiting the westward journey was the most profound cultural pursuit of Southeast University. We should undertake the mission of building the national culture and carry out the spirit of “working hard, being tough-minded and revitalization through education”, instilling inexhaustible vitality to the construction of world-class university with Chinese characteristics. This ceremony also wrote a new note for the common memory and deep friendship of Southeast University and Chongqing University. She sincerely hoped that the two schools could cooperate closely to achieve the goal of constructing a world-class university, along with the pursuit of the Tow Centenary Goals and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation. 

Mr. Shu Lichun said that at that time, National Central University and Chongqing University worked together and built a high ground of China’s education. During that period, the two schools shared the teachers and teaching resources and implemented mutual recognition of credit. Both teaching and research received fruitful results. He pointed out that the older generation of intellectuals of National Central University loved the country deeply, and they struggled to advocate science and pursue the truth during the war. It’s this spirit that supported the development of China’s higher education and inherited the culture in the war. He said that Chongqing University was willing to join Southeast University to carry forward the spirit of the Westward, deepening the cooperation with Southeast University and promoting the construction of world-class universities with Chinese characteristics hand in hand.

In the ceremony, Wang De, the son of Wang Youting who was the member of the Westward eighty years ago, told the story of the difficult journey during the war. Professor Wang Huabao from the School of Humanities of Southeast University read the inscription he wrote for the great movement. Alumni Representative and professor of Chongqing University Qian Jueshi, and student representative Zhou Ran from the School of Humanities of Southeast University also delivered speeches.

At the end of the ceremony, the leaders of the two schools unveiled the “Guanghua Column”, and sealed the soil of the Westward road in it. “Guanghua Column” was designed by Professor Zhang Zhixian from the School of Arts, SEU. It’s 115 cm high, meaning the 115^th anniversary of SEU. The body was triangular pyramid shape, inspired by the National Central University’s triangle school badge. The top of the cover was engraved with the road map of the Westward, and the bottom was engraved the school badge of National Central University. The foundation bed was the school badge of Southeast University. The overall shape looked like a torch, meaning inheritance and hoping the spirit of the predecessor could shine the way of today’s students.

In 1937, the predecessor of Southeast University – National Central University was forced to transfer to Chongqing and Chengdu because of war. On May 12 this year, the group of “Revisiting the Westward Road” started from Nanjing, and arrived in Chongqing on the evening of May 15. The group has more than 30 members and is composed by students, teachers, alumni of Southeast University and news media. The team separated by two lines. The first team started from Si Pailou 2^nd, and passed through Quanjiao, Hefei, Lu’an, Ye Ji, Xinyang, Wuhan, Yichang and other places and arrived in Chongqing. The second team started from Ding Jiaqiao Campus heading to Chengdu, and met the first team in Chongqing.