On the evening of September 23, 2017, SUSTech’s campus was buzzing in the golden dusk light, with a stage set up on the lawns hosting a wonderful show to welcome all the new and not-so-new students and professors who formed an audience of over 1000 people.

 The Western Music Club opened the show with a melodious performance of instrumental classical music.

   A series of heartfelt and passionate performances followed suit, with the stage lights flooding the scene, music ringing out across the hall and the students’ passion filling the atmosphere. The SUSTech band “Wood Crocodile” thrilled the audience with their wonderful songs, followed by a dance interpretation of “Spirited Away” also won round after round of applause.

The band CHAOS played Japanese songs such as “Kabukicho”, “Maiden”, and many others offering a sweet and youthful interval, followed by a string of performances including the Latin Society’s which was particularly elegant and moving, a Pipa - traditional Chinese string instrument - performance which gave a warm Chinese culture introduction to the new international freshmen. The international students were then propelled into the spotlight with traditional song and dance performances from Cambodia and Hungary providing a refreshing show to the audience’s delight. The performers were truly engaged in their work, sharing their passion and talents to earn great rounds of applause and cheering.

  The dazzling lights and the vibrant energy reeling off the stage was far from over. “The Story of SUSTech and Me” followed showing 4 students sharing their feelings and experiences about being at university as well as their future hopes and aspirations, inspiring all the younger students in the audience. For many it helped to materialise their dreams into objectives, and improve their understanding of the university. They looked beaming with happiness and empathy as the story-tellers relived their memories as if it was yesterday.

   The whole show was streamed live on Wechat, attracting a record-breaking 7000 viewers online, while more than 10 000 watched the event after the stream finished.

   The party ended with the singing of patriotic songs to conclude what was a truly magical night. Zheng Nuiqi excitedly said” “The evening was really fun and the performers really engaged with the audience. Everytime SUSTech organises an event they make sure it is new and unique!”. Other freshmen said that they were “very grateful to the performers and planners to have taken the time out to prepare this wonderful event”. Malaysian student Chen Zhenzhen said “it was really amazing to see the senior students performing like professionals”. There were also a lot of freshmens’ parents watching the show, happy to see their children integrating SUSTech in such a nice atmosphere and eager to see more.

             Text: Student News Agency Yuan Junchao, Dong Zhipei, Chen Yujie, Zhang Zhan, Ning Shuo, Ma Mulei

Photo: Student News Agency Xu Haven, Cao Ruoxiao, Wang Xinyuan, Dong Xing

Translated by: Jeremy Welburn

Proofread by: Xia Yingying

http://www.sustc.edu.cn/en/news_events_1_1/2083