April 6, 2011, Chengnan Elementary School ushered in a special day: Chengnan Hall inauguration and the 110th anniversary of Chengnan Elementary School. On this day, the campus laughter, the city, the district party and government leaders at all levels of dignitaries, celebrities from all walks of life and senior old alumni gathered in Chengnan, *** with the celebration of Chengnan Elementary School double celebration.
Chengnan Elementary School was founded in 1901, its predecessor can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty, more than seven hundred years ago. The ancient school has a long history. The name of the school has been changed many times, but what remains unchanged is the glorious tradition and excellent school spirit. This fertile ground for educating people has produced generations of outstanding talents, including revolutionary pioneers such as Li Chuntao, Cai Yingzhi and Ke Guotai, as well as former member of the Central Committee of Guarantors, Mei Yi, leftist writers Xue Shan and Biye, master of Chinese literature, Rao Zongyi, Mao Zedong's Russian interpreter, Ke Baonian, and the ambassador to Finland, Zheng Jinjiong, etc. The former governor of Guangdong Province, Lu Ruihua, was also a member of the school. Lu Ruihua, the former governor of Guangdong Province, is also one of the outstanding alumni of Chengnan Primary School. When he revisited his alma mater in 2009, he had a grand wish to rebuild Chengnan Academy, i.e., to raise funds from the community. Mr. Tian Guilian, an entrepreneur from Shenzhen, admired him and generously donated RMB 4 million to rebuild Chengnan Academy. The project was started in July 2010 and completed in January 2011 successfully.
The ceremony took place in front of the Chengnan Academy at 9:00 a.m. Xiangqiao District Mayor Ma Rusheng presided over the ceremony, which featured speeches by Chaozhou Mayor Xu Guang, Chengnan Primary School Principal Lu Chunmei, Mr. Tian Guilian's representative, and Yew Wah Experimental School Principal Peng Bing, as well as a plaque unveiling of the academy by Sr. Governor Lu Ruihua and Chaozhou City Municipal Party Secretary Luo Wenzhi. Afterwards, everyone watched an elaborate cultural performance prepared by the school's teachers and students. The performance was hosted by two alumni, Xie E (Picture Right 2), English Anchor of Xinhua News Network, and Lai Rowdy Apples (Picture Right 1), Host of Chaozhou TV Station, as well as Zhan Jiezhao (Picture Left 2), a student of Chengnan Primary School, and Su Yuxin (Picture Left 1), a student of Chengnan Chinese and English Language School. Alumni Xu Lanlan, a young soprano from Guangdong Opera and Dance Drama Theater, and Tang Jiejie, a master's degree student from the Central Conservatory of Music, were present to sing. After the performance, all the guests visited the newly completed school hall, and they praised the bookish charm and cultural heritage of Chengnan School and fully affirmed the sunshine schooling characteristics of Chengnan Primary School.
Chengnan Hall is one of the oldest educational building symbols of Chaozhou, its completion, is a new opportunity for the development of Chengnan Primary School, Chengnan teachers and students are determined to honor the existence of the heart, put the responsibility on the shoulders, live up to the ardent hopes of the old governor Lu Ruihua, in the generation of Chengnan people pioneered the education of the avenue to move forward relentlessly, the pursuit of persistence, and to create a new glory!