ZHU QIWEN

Tsinghua University, whose alumni number among the highest ranks of government and industry in China, is to celebrate its 90th anniversary with a grand celebration on April 29.

The prestigious school has spent nine decades contributing much to the nation's educational structure as well as to its science and technology achievements.

"What we are most proud of is the more than 100,000 students who have graduated from Tsinghua since its founding," University President Wang Dazhong said yesterday.

Known as "the cradle of Chinese engineers," the university has an enviable life of alumni featuring distinguished scientists who have live up to the slogan "reviving the country by relying on science and technology."

Thirty per cent of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 20 per cent of those in the Chinese Academy of Engineering graduated from Tsinghua.

Equally noticeable is its large roster of high-profile alumni who steer the country at different levels.

From within the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee alone, Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice-President Hu Jintao once studied there. Zhu also serves as dean of Tsinghua's School of Economics and Management.

A retrospective exhibition of its brilliant history is scheduled as a part of the milestone celebration.

Yet the party will also look ahead into the 21st century and beyond.

"We are confident we will continue to build our university into a world-class school," Wang said.

Established in 1911, Tsinghua University, first named "Tsinghua Xuetang," developed from a preparatory school for students who would later be sent by the government to study in US universities into a prestigious Chinese university.

The university today has more than 7,100 faculty and staff, and more than 20,000 students, including 12,000 graduates, 6,200 master's degree candidates and 2,800 doctoral candidates.

The university has 11 schools and 44 departments offering master's degrees in 109 fields and doctoral degrees in 87 fields.