On the evening of June 20, the graduation ceremony and degree conferment ceremony for the 2022 graduates of Nanjing University of the Arts started in the solemn sound of the national anthem. All university leaders, department heads, members of the leadership team of each second-level college, teacher representatives, alumni representatives, all counsellors and the 2022 graduates attended. The graduation ceremony and degree conferment ceremony was hosted by Zhang Jie, Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and Vice President of the university.

The ceremony was held in the university stadium, which was also broadcast live at the same time. A total of more than 80,000 graduates, parents, staff and alumni witnessed this solemn and unforgettable moment together.

Yu Feng, Secretary of the Party Committee of NUA, gave “the Last Lecture”

The youth never ends but the young shall sail. Yu Feng, Secretary of the Party Committee of NUA hosted the graduation ceremony and gave the final lesson. He pointed out that, the sudden pandemic made the 2022 graduates learn the most. Suffering is learning and adversity is accumulation. The pandemic lets us know what it means to be sharing and united, what it means to be brave and resolute, what it means to be precise and determined, and what it means to be steadfast and unswerving. Under the test of the pandemic, NUAers showed their responsibility and commitment to “strengthen our country, take charge of our country, take the responsibility for our country, and love our country”. Yu Feng emphasised that, the 2022 graduates are living in a great time and should shoulder the responsibilities. Today’s NUAers have the responsibility to continue the red bloodline of our ancestors, inherit the red spirit of the martyrs, and integrate their artistic dreams into the cultural industry of the Party and the nation. Yu Feng expressed his hope that NUAers could create art while adhering to the people’s perspective, nurture the roots of art with people’s love and people’s value, forge the soul of art in the great process of building a people’s nation, and build the spirit of art while being tested by the people. With their youth, NUA graduates should sing for people and for the era, and let their youth dance for people, sing for people, and integrate to people’s future.

The Time Album took us back, with each photo recorded youthful faces and valuable memories. The photos reminded us that our reunion will be coming and our future will be bright.

Zhang Linghao, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and the President of NUA, gave a speech to the graduates. He put forward three wishes and expectations the graduates. He hoped that the graduates would establish an overall insight, develop a deep understanding of a large picture, and present “a trustworthy, lovable, and respectable image of China” to the university, to the history, and to the world with their commitment, creativity, and achievements. He hoped that the graduates would carry forward the spirit of literature and art, maintain an open and optimistic attitude, strive for success, devote themselves to serving the world, preserve righteousness for history, promote virtue for the world, and leave a great reputation for themselves. He hoped that the graduates would keep the motherland and the people in their heart, aim for the highest, create good works for the society that can inspire the unity and struggle of the Chinese people, provide a new type of literature and arts that resonate with the new era, and leave first-class works that can baptize people's souls” in the history.

President Zhang Linghao gave a speech to the graduates

The songs are melodious, the drums are resounding, and the dances are soft and enchanting. In the new journey of the new era, there is a group of NUAers who are brave enough to pursue their dreams and are growing into a new force for the great rejuvenation and the prosperity of literature and art in China. Xie Jianming, the Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and the Vice President of NUA, announced the recognition decision. The university leaders presented the awards to the National Scholarship winners, the Provincial Outstanding Graduates of Jiangsu, the Outstanding Graduates of NUA, and the Feng Jianqin Outstanding Dissertation Awards winners. Li Xiangmin, the Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and the Vice President of NUA, hosted the degree awarding ceremony.

University leaders presented the awards

Xie Jianming, the Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and the Vice President of NUA, announced the recognition decisions

Li Xiangmin, the Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and the Vice President of NUA, hosted the degree awarding ceremony

Zhang Jie, the Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party and the Vice President of NUA, hosted the graduation ceremony

Graduates dressed up for the ceremony

The years of studying at the university cannot be so valuable without the help and guidance from the teachers. Professor Jin Dan, the doctoral supervisor of the School of Fine Arts, gave a speech to the graduates. He hoped that the graduates could inherit the spirit of the past generations of NUAers, have a strong personality with ambition, responsibility, and sentiment, produce splendid creations, maintain the balance between inheritance and innovation, and create masterpieces that deserve to be saved.

Professor Jin Dan gave a speech to the graduates

When he was young, he entered the gate of NUA with passion for art and struggled in Huanggua Yuan No.1. The long road of studying has recorded his youth as well as his heart for pursuing his dream. Lan Ran, the representative of undergraduate graduates, and Gao Zhongxuan, the representative of postgraduate graduates, delivered their graduation speeches. They fondly recalled their time in NUA and expressed their gratitude to the university and their teachers. In the future, they would continue to uphold the university motto “Grandeur, brevity, profoundity, and beauty”, take up the mission of youth, and contribute to the construction of the nation!

Lan Ran, the representative of undergraduate graduates, and Gao Zhongxuan, the representative of postgraduate graduates, delivered their graduation speeches

The songs linger in the quiet dawn. The brushes depict the journey of youth. The world of art is ahead for all graduates to strive for their dreams. Led by the graduates representatives, all graduates made a solemn graduation oath, expressing their confidence and determination to embrace a global vision, to hold on to their original aspiration of virtue and art, and to pursue their dreams for the future.

At the end of the ceremony, a grand degree awarding ceremony was held, in which the university leaders turned the tassel for each graduate and presented the degree certificate.

Focusing on the theme of “the Track of Youth”, NUA teachers and students jointly composed an original song entitled The Track of Youth, which pays tribute to youth and echoes the times. They presented the vows of “pledging to the Party to make my country strong” in a unique way to NUAers. The lyrics were written by Yu Feng, the Secretary of the Party Committee. The song was composed by Wu Xiaoping, National Class One composer, the guest professor of NUA, and a renowned alumnus. It was performed by NUA alumni Zhang Qiping and Wang Qian, as well as graduates from the School of Music, with dances performed by the graduates from the School of Dance.

NUA’s original song The Track of Youth

The graduates have presented an outstanding songs and dances performance to pay tribute to the youth. The graduation ceremony has a heated and energetic atmosphere.