On September 29th, the commencement ceremony of Sichuan University Museum Complex/the demonstration of Frontier Medicine Research Center, Technology Intersection and Conversion Center for New Economy were held on Wangjiang Campus. Leaders of Sichuan provincial government, Chengdu municipal government, and Sichuan University as well as representatives of Sichuan University Alumni Association andYoung Entrepreneurs Association for Sichuan University Global Alumni Entrepreneurs attended the ceremony. Vice President Weilin Xu presided over this ceremony.
First of all, President Yanrong Li expressed, on behalf of SCU, gratitude toward Chengdu municipal government for its long-standing support for Sichuan University. He said that the construction of the museum complex, a joint project between Sichuan University and the city of Chengdu, was not only a gift for Sichuan University on her 123rdanniversary, but also an important moment to be included in the annals of Sichuan University. This museum complex is not a simple construction project but rather a project to integrate into the city memories the immense amount of natural and cultural relics that Sichuan University has amassed over more than one hundred years. It is of far reaching significance.
The project covers an area of about 210 Mu and the construction expenditure amounts to nearly 1.3 billion RMB. It will be built into a world-class comprehensive university museum featuring "four sections and one belt". It will also become the new landmark of Chengdu, which is a beautiful and livable city with rich cultures. Sichuan University will always remember the great support from Chengdu and endeavor to make greater contributions to the construction of Chengdu into a national metropolis.
On behalf of the municipal government and city committee of Chengdu, Qiang Luo congratulated SCU on the commencement of the museum complex project, and thanked SCU teachers and alumni for their concern and support for the economic and social development of Chengdu. He said that Sichuan University was one of the birthplaces of modern higher education in China. In recent years, Sichuan University has made great progress in discipline construction, scientific research, personnel training and transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Chengdu’s modern museum cause dates back to 1914 when West China Union University Museum was planned, which is the predecessor of Sichuan University Museum. Since then, Sichuan University has developed and become one of the most important comprehensive university museums of China, making remarkable contribution to the cultural prosperity and museum cause in Chengdu. The construction of the museum complex will not only display the humanistic details of Sichuan University, but also provide an important support for the "double first-class" construction of Sichuan University. Meantime, it will enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the citizens and promote the development of urban culture. The city of Chengdu will do everything to support Sichuan University in its construction of a world first-class university with Chinese characteristics and SCU style.
The leaders of Ruiping Fan, Qiang Luo, Jianguo Wang and Yanrong Li went up to the stage to light the start-up ball, which indicated the official commencement of Sichuan University Museum Complex.
After the ceremony, Ruiping Fan, Qiang Luo and other leaders inspected the blueprint ofTechnology Intersection and Conversion Center for New Economy, Frontier Medicine Research Center, and Sichuan University Museum Complex to learn about the projects.
Sichuan University Museum Complex is a joint project between Sichuan University and the city of Chengdu in the principle of “joint construction, co-management and sharing”. Drawing upon the resources of both the city and the university, it consists of “four sections and one belt”, namely, comprehensive museum, small museums section, research and learning, cultural development and expansion in addition to River Bank Belt of Expo and Cultural Development. This museum complex will include Sichuan University Museum which houses over 80,000 items and was first opened in 1914, and Sichuan University Nature Museum which has over 800,000 plant specimens and 140,000 animal specimens. Sichuan University Nature Museum was first opened in 1935. Sichuan University Museum Complex is to be built into one of the best museum complexes in the world.
