November 23, 2020
Following a relatively inactive year, the University of Chicago Center in Beijing welcomed UChicago college students with a guided tour activity at the Forbidden City on November 13. As many students choose to take their classes online this quarter, the Center in Beijing will be organizing different activities for Beijing-based undergraduate students to connect and get to know each other, building a small college community in Beijing.
For the first kick-off activity of the academic year, Center in Beijing staff welcomed the 6 first-year college students who participated in the guided tour. Mr. Tu Xuejun, a senior staff member at the Forbidden City and an expert on the preservation of historical relics, enthusiastically shared his knowledge and expertise with students, as he guided the group through the museum. In addition to viewing the Forbidden City through an expert’s eye, the students also were able to visit a special exhibition commemorating the 600th anniversary of the construction of the Forbidden City. While they enjoyed the overall experience, the students seemed especially grateful to socialize with each other.
In its second student activity of the year, the Center in Beijing invited students to visit the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) Museum and the China Medical Board (CMB) on November 17. PUMCH AND CMB staff members guided students through the history of the hospital, exploring PUMCH’s ties to the Rockefeller Foundation and the University of Chicago. The activity culminated with a conversation with Mr. Li Wenkai, Executive Director of the CMB China Office.