Today we got to go on our campus tour. Renmin is a lot bigger than the campus at University of Washington, Tacoma.
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| My first view of my new university! |
I was fortunate to attend classes at the campus of Renmin University of China during my study abroad. Established in the Haidian District of Beijing by
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1937. Renmin or RUC is seen as one of the most prestigious universities in China educating approximately 24,000 students (as of 2012) in subjects ranging from the humanities and social sciences, theoretical economics, applied economics, legal studies, sociology, journalism and communication.
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| One of the main buildings where classes were held for law and politics amongst many other subjects |
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| Graduation was being held at Renmin every day it seemed for the first week we were there |
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| Guardian lions outside one of the restaurants on campus |
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| Renmin graduates taking LOTS of photos in the courtyard of one of their main buildings |
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| The Chinese flag and a phrase spoken by Mao Zedong engraved in stone ("seeking truth from facts") which guards the East gate |
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| This simple courtyard is where "English Corner" was held every Friday night |
"English Corner" is a weekly event that encourages anyone from the community to interact with others (English speaking students included) while speaking only in English. Usually when I attended English Corner I would be surrounded by as many as 25-100 people all asking me questions about my life in America. Many times I would converse with school aged children who were practicing English conversation for school. This was one of my favorite activities while in China, I had amazing conversations with a lot of people and made many new friends that I still communicate with on the Chinese messaging service WeChat.
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| The building where our classes were held for the study abroad |
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| Our building, used to be the old Russian training center on campus |
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| Statues were all over campus, this particular one shows a professor teaching his students. Professors are revered |
Something I noticed while in China was the amount of respect the Chinese students had for their Chinese teachers. Not that I don't act respectfully to my teachers (because I do) but it was an overwhelming display of respect and even after class the students wouldn't say anything negative about their professors. It was just nice to finally see teachers/professors treated as I had always thought they should.
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| A statue of a university professor partially covered with branches |
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| A park at the center of campus |
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| A park at the center of campus, I often saw students playing soccer and Frisbee here |
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| The fitness complex, at nights you could see hundreds of people (students and general public) exercising on the track and fields |
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| A water feature at the center of campus popular with the Chinese students and local public, often just to the left of me I could find people doing Tai Chi or dance classes on my early morning walks |
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| One of the university founders (I believe, at least that's what I was told, since I couldn't read the engravings I had to believe what I was told) |
Allowing myself to embrace my new university and surrounding helped bring China that much closer to me. I am so fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to study at Renmin, the other students, professors made China...real. When I think of China they are the representation of what that is to me.
ADDRESS
Renmin University of China
59 Zhongguancun St
Haidian, Beijing, China, 100872
LINKS
Renmin University of China
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