Peking University, Apr. 15: In the light of Peking University’s 113th Anniversary, PKUers are voting for the most suitable flower and tree which can best represent the verve and spirit of PKU: Are they the pines and cypresses standing before Ornamental Columns, or the magnolias at the gate of Lee Shau Kee Building, or rather gingkoes beside Peking University Library? The contest for ‘PKU Flower and PKU Tree’ took off with an opening lecture "What you do not know about: Plants in Yanyuan Garden" held in Lee Shau Kee Building on April 8.
PKU students, teachers as well as alumni can now vote for their favorite plants in Yan Yuan on the campus website. The chosen PKU Flower and PKU Tree will become symbols of the university along with the university’s logo, motto and song. The Top 10 voted flowers and trees will be selected as candidates of PKU Flower and PKU Tree, whereas the final result will be announced on May 4, the day of the anniversary celebration.
Former President of Peking University Professor Xu Zhihong said in the opening lecture that this selection activity would have profound influence on enhancing the spirit of PKU, connecting students and professors, publicizing environmental consciousness and constructing green campus.
Professor Gu Yahong, Deputy Dean of School of Life Sciences, introduced systematically the campus plants with vivid examples and well-selected pictures, including not only the commonly seen plants such as gingkoes and locust trees, but also some rare ones such as cork trees and buddleias.
As introduced by the Association for Green Life, organizer of this activity, that there are at least 400 species of plants in PKU. Thanks to this biological diversity, the south of the campus acquires a characteristic urban ecological landscape, while northern part maintains an excellent ecosystem, blessed by its past as royal garden back in Qing Dynasty. Flowers on campus blossom at different time throughout the year, which have also provided lively materials for constructing ecological civilization and cultivating environmental consciousness in the university.
To some extent, school flower and school tree can represent the spiritual pursuit and educational concept of a university. A number of famous universities in China are also selecting specific plants as the symbol of the school. Renmin University for example, designated magnolia as the university flower and ginkgo as university tree in 2010, according to an earlier report.
Written by: Chen Meng
Edited by: Li Xiaomeng
Source: PKU News (Chinese), Beijing Morning Post
