On the morning of September 11, HNU held an opening ceremony at its south campus to welcome the new students.

During the ceremony, President Duan Xianzhong delivered a message to the freshmen, encouraging them to "pursue excellence in their journey to scale the heights of knowledge."

Leaders attended the ceremony included: HNU leaders Deng Wei, Duan Xianzhong, Cao Shengyuan, Wang Weibin, Sun Wei, Tang Zhenming, Chen Renpeng, and Jiang Chao. Xu Helian and Zhao Xiaobing, assistants to the president, and Liu Zeliang, deputy director of the HNU Administrative Affairs Committee, were present. Sun Wei, deputy Party secretary of HNU, presided over the ceremony.

President Duan welcomed the freshmen on behalf of the university. He expressed expectations for the students to carry forward HNU's esteemed tradition of "imparting wisdom for the benefit of the people and applying knowledge to practical use," fulfill the spirit of HNU's motto—"seeking truth from facts and daring to be pioneers," and shoulder the historic mission of "revitalizing the Chinese nation and bringing glory to our country." He encouraged the students to pursue excellence in their journey to scale the heights of knowledge, and grow into leading pragmatic personnel for the new era!

Every freshman received a book titled A Short History of Chinese Philosophy before the semester started. President Duan delivered a speech on how to approach university studies, centering around the book. He emphasized that inheriting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture is of critical significance and serves as an integral part of HNU's mission to cultivate top-notch innovative talents. He noted that there are many other areas crucial to students' growth. He advised every student to intensively study at least one good book in each of 20 key areas, in a comprehensive, systematic, profound, and thorough manner. In addition to intensive reading, he encouraged students to to dedicate themselves to extensive reading, through which they can continuously broaden their perspectives, accumulate knowledge, and enrich their inner selves.

President Duan urged graduate students to fully leverage their learning potential, devouring literatures in their field with great eagerness, synthesizing and summarizing the developmental, updated advances, and future trends of the field. In this way, they may systematically master the professional knowledge required for their career development, and preliminarily grow into a specialist in a specific sub-field by the time they graduate.

Chen Guo, executive deputy director of the National Supercomputing Center in Changsha, addressed as a faculty representative. He encouraged the students to grasp the pulse of the times, set ambitious goals, proactively understand and engage with the wave of technological innovation, to position themselves at the forefront of scientific and technological transformation. He also urged them to quickly adapt to their new roles, adjusting to the demands of university and postgraduate studies by shifting from passive reception to active exploration. With their feet firmly on the ground and their eyes set on the highest aspirations, every student can forge a strong personality during their time at HNU.

Xue Minghe from the College of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering addressed the ceremony as a representative of undergraduate students.

Xie Shudi from the College of Finance and Statistics addressed the ceremony as a representative of the freshmen.

Yang Yuchang from the College of Electrical and Information Engineering delivered a speech as a representative of new postgraduate students.

University leaders presented the school badges to the freshman representatives, officially welcoming them as the newest members of the HNU family.

Representatives of the teachers, class advisors, and guidance counselors, as well as persons in charge of related departments and Party affairs of colleges, and student affairs staff, also attended the ceremony.

At the opening ceremony.

Freshman representatives pose with their newly conferred school badges at the ceremony.

President Duan addresses the opening ceremony.

Deputy Secretary Sun Wei chairs the opening ceremony.

Chen Guo delivers a speech as a faculty representative.

Student representative Xue Minghe speaks.

Freshman representative Xie Shudi speaks.

Representative of new postgraduate students Yang Yuchang speaks.

At the opening ceremony.