In September this year, Nanjing University of Science and Technology will celebrate its 60th anniversary. In July, the university launched a cycling event themed “Tracing Our Roots and Continuing the Glory.” Fifteen cyclists traveled through cities that played key roles in the university’s development. Over ten days, they passed through Wuhan, Xi’an, Beijing, Shenyang, and other places before finally reaching the university’s birthplace, Harbin, covering more than a thousand miles. Along the way, they visited former campuses and met both veteran and new alumni, collecting nearly 10,000 messages of good wishes as a tribute to the university’s 60th birthday.
From Nanjing to Shenyang, cycling through five cities to “trace our roots”
Wuhan: Blistering sun
Ground temperature at 43°C, cycling 250 kilometers under the scorching sun
Wuhan is an extremely important stop in the history of NUST. In 1960, the Central Military Commission officially issued a document establishing the Artillery Engineering Institute on the basis of the Wuchang Senior Ordnance Technical School and the Artillery Engineering Department of the Harbin Military Engineering Institute. From 1960 to 1962, the university operated in Wuhan before relocating to Nanjing in September 1962. Setting off from Nanjing, the cyclists arrived in Wuhan at 0:30 AM on July 11—their first stop.
Most of the 15 cyclists were members of the Blue Dance Cycling Association at NUST, including one Vietnamese international student, Li Chunnan, and one counselor, Sun Tao.
July is when Wuhan, known as a “furnace city,” really heats up. On their first day there, they experienced ground temperatures of 43°C, with steam rising from the asphalt. They cycled 250 kilometers under the blazing sun. Due to a wrong turn on their phone navigation, they ended up riding back and forth across the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge four times. That day, four team members suffered sunburn, mostly on the skin behind their knees. The milder cases showed redness and peeling, while the more severe ones became inflamed due to sweat infection. One cyclist, Yan Fanzhi, joked about the “little tank top” tan he got on his body. But no one slowed down. “Cycling is a kind of discipline,” said Sun Tao. “Only by pushing forward without stopping can you avoid feeling the heat and fatigue in the wind. Once you stop, soreness and the blazing heat will wear you down.”
Xi’an: Torrential rain
Floodwaters above the knees, “seeing the sea” in the city center at midnight
At 11:40 PM on the 12th, the cyclists arrived in Xi’an. Xi’an was another important “stop” in NUST’s history. In April 1960, due to limited space for expansion at the Wuchang Senior Ordnance Technical School site, the Artillery Engineering Institute decided to relocate to Xi’an. However, by June 1961, construction in Xi’an was halted because the site and building plans did not meet requirements.
Unexpectedly, less than ten minutes into cycling in Xi’an, torrential rain poured down, rendering raincoats useless. The ride became extremely difficult. As the team leader, Liang Xinyue quickly reorganized the formation, arranging the riders into two columns to cycle in staggered positions.
Within an hour, the team had reached the city center and were “seeing the sea.” By then, floodwaters in the city center had risen above the cyclists’ knees, submerging their wheels. To ensure safety, they had to push their bikes on foot through the deep water. The heavy rain significantly slowed their progress, and they spent two hours wading through the water before reaching their accommodation. He Tao collided with a median strip while riding through the downpour, unable to see the road clearly, and scraped his knee, which immediately bled through his sock. A doctor accompanying the group bandaged him and advised rest. But over the next two days, He Tao didn’t sit idle—he volunteered to handle logistics for the team.
Exhausted from the previous night’s downpour, the cyclists set off again at 6:30 AM the next morning. They joined several local alumni for a city cycling activity.
Beijing: Traffic jams
Cycling faster than driving—calling on citizens to choose low-carbon transport
Beijing is the birthplace of the Harbin Military Engineering Institute. On June 23, 1952, Chairman Mao signed an order to establish a military engineering institute in Harbin, appointing Comrade Chen Geng, then Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army, to oversee its construction. On August 22, the preparatory committee for the military engineering institute was established in Beijing. The third stop for the cyclists was Beijing.
For safety, the university specially arranged a support vehicle for the cycling trip. But in Beijing, coordination between the support vehicle and the cycling team was not as smooth as expected. The team had to wait at almost every intersection for the support vehicle, which even got lost once. Due to frequent traffic lights, heavy vehicle flow, and speed limits on some roads, the car actually moved slower than the bicycles.
The cyclists were deeply struck by how bikes could outpace cars in Beijing. Sun Tao said, “We call on citizens to ride bikes more often. It’s not only a low-carbon and healthy option, but also helps reduce urban traffic pressure and saves your own travel time.”
Shenyang: Exchange
Enthusiastic locals gather around, proudly saying “we’re from Nanjing”
At 11:20 PM on the 16th, the team arrived in Shenyang. Dawn breaks early in Shenyang. At 4:30 AM, the cyclists set off in the morning light. The “Shenyang era” marks another chapter in NUST’s history. In mid-August 1961, due to a sudden surge in new students, the Wuchang campus couldn’t accommodate everyone. The training department of the Artillery Engineering Institute and students from grades 1 to 3 in departments 1–6 relocated to the Shenyang Political Cadre School until they moved to Nanjing in September 1962.
When the cycling team passed Zhongshan Square, just after 5 AM, the square was filled with locals practicing morning exercises and roller skating. The sight of the uniformly dressed cyclists pedaling into the square in a single line immediately drew attention. During their break, locals often approached to chat, asking in thick northeastern accents, “Where are you from? What are you doing?” The cyclists would proudly reply, “We’re from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, we came from Nanjing!” The warm and friendly attitude of the northeasterners made the city feel especially welcoming.
Along the way, the cyclists met many kind-hearted people. One particularly memorable encounter happened in Wuhan, where a motorcyclist noticed their uniforms, approached them, and upon learning they were looking for Wuchang Station, offered to lead the group on his motorcycle for over ten kilometers before bidding farewell. Cyclist Jin Zangzhen said that despite negative reports about some cities seen in the news, good people still outnumbered the bad. “Through this special kind of journey, we’ve experienced the true nature of these cities.”
Harbin: The final stop
Girls match the boys—two female cyclists persevere to the end
Harbin is the site of the former PLA Military Engineering Institute and the birthplace of NUST. NUST originated from the Artillery Engineering Department, the second institute of the PLA Military Engineering Institute.
The stretch from Fuyu to Harbin was different from city cycling—the team rode smoothly along National Highway 102, with endless scenic farmland on both sides. From 6 AM to the scorching noon sun, the team took a break every two hours and reached a top speed of 52 km/h, making it the fastest ride of the entire journey.
Among the cyclists were two girls who, like the boys, persevered to the end—even on this high-speed, long-distance ride. Xu Xiao, usually cheerful and outgoing with a boyish personality, was the “mood maker” during group chats. When cycling in a line, she often took the front spots and pedaled harder than many of the boys.
Another girl, Ye Xuemei, was a quiet and delicate young lady. The bicycle she used for the ride was borrowed from the cycling association, and it often had trouble shifting gears—it was one of the hardest bikes in the group to ride. Throughout the journey, the boys took great care of this young girl. Someone would always adjust her gear ratio based on her pedaling cadence if it was off, and during breaks, they’d help correct the position of her saddle. When riding in the suburbs of Wuhan, where there were no places to eat and the bread they brought ran low, the boys all competed to give their bread to the two girls.
When talking about the changes along the way, Xu Xiao frankly admitted that she had turned into a “big eater,” always feeling hungry. Sometimes, she would eat three eggs, three small bowls of egg-fried rice, plus several bowls of plain congee and side dishes for breakfast.
Visiting alumni and hearing them recount the history of their alma mater
From Nanjing to Harbin, the team visited the former sites of the school’s establishment and met with alumni who had contributed to the national defense science and technology sector at every stop, listening to the elders share the stories of the school’s founding. In Beijing, they visited Chen Zhijian, the son of General Chen Geng, the first president of the Harbin Military Engineering Institute, and Kong Shujing, the daughter of Lieutenant General Kong Congzhou, the first president of the Artillery Engineering College.
Chen Zhijian: College students should have a “do-or-die” spirit
Chen Zhijian is the former deputy commander of the Chongqing Garrison Command and also a former student of the Harbin Military Engineering Institute. Looking at the group of energetic college students before him, Chen Zhijian recalled his own university days. “Back then at the Harbin Military Engineering Institute, everyone studied with incredible dedication. It was all for the country, with not a trace of selfishness. Back in my university days, I exercised every day—I could run 1.5 kilometers without even breaking a sweat, and afterward, I’d take a cold shower. I could do 45 pull-ups in a row in one minute, ranking second in my department.” Throughout the conversation, he continuously encouraged the team members to focus more on physical exercise in their daily college life, whether in sports or tackling academic challenges, and to persevere with a “do-or-die” spirit.
Chen Zhijian acknowledged the brilliant achievements of Nanjing University of Science and Technology over the past 60 years. He admitted that the current style of education is different from the past, but what remains unchanged is the goal of cultivating patriotic students with a fighting spirit. He hopes that NUST students can inherit the fine traditions of the revolutionaries and “read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.”
Kong Shujing: Never forget your country, no matter when or where
When the Artillery Engineering College was established, Kong Shujing was 24 years old and one of the founding members, responsible for the school’s scientific and technological archives at the time. She was deeply impressed by her father’s love for education and still remembers how, in the 1980s, he answered an interview question about why he chose to establish a school rather than serve in the military: “Because the country needs talent.”
Kong Shujing said she has visited Nanjing University of Science and Technology three times in total. Even though she is now over seventy, she can still accurately recall the dates of those three visits: December 1995, December 2006, and October 2011.
“The first time I came, NUST still retained almost the original appearance it had at its founding. By the second visit, there had already been major changes—the campus had expanded. The third time I came to NUST, the changes were the most significant—not only had the size of the school grown further, but the disciplines and majors had become more specialized, and the students were incredibly talented.” This made her feel very gratified.
Kong Shujing expressed her heartfelt congratulations to NUST on the occasion of its upcoming 60th anniversary. “I hope NUST will continue to thrive and become a top-tier university in China and even the world, nurturing more outstanding talents and contributing to the motherland,” she said. “I grew up in the midst of war and deeply understand how hard-won our country’s peace is. No matter when or where, you must never forget that you are descendants of Yan and Huang, the sons and daughters of China.”