[Wanyuan] NYU Shanghai President Tong Gives a Lecture: The First Session of Link·SH General Education Lecture Campus Tour Successfully Held in Our University

On the afternoon of April 21^st, the first event of the Link·SH General Education Lecture Campus Tour kicked off grandly and concluded successfully at the 4th Floor Auditorium of Shanghai United International School, Wanyuan Campus at 14:30 on April 21st  2026. This event was co-hosted by Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences and Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) Co., Ltd., supported by the Publicity Department of the CPC Min Hang District Committee, and co-organized by Shanghai Foreign Language Books Co., Ltd. and our school. This event is a humanities and social sciences popularization and international communication project for K12 Chinese and foreign teenagers, and a vivid practice of our school’s educational philosophy of “Integrating Chinese and Western Cultures, Promoting Harmonious Development”.

At the beginning of the event, Ms. Xiao Xiaoyan, teacher from SUIS Wanyuan High School and Burak PEI, Grade 12 student from SUIS WY, served as bilingual hosts. With a warm and solemn opening, they extended a warm welcome and sincere gratitude to all leaders, guests, teachers and students present.

Subsequently, the hosts introduced the distinguished leaders and guests attending the event, including

• Mr. Wang Weisong, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Full-time Vice Chairman of Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences,
• Mr. Tong Shijun, President and Professor of New York University Shanghai,
• Ms. Liu Haiying, Vice President of Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) Co., Ltd., etc.
• Ms. Zhu Yuanjie, Executive Vice President of Shanghai Foreign Language Book Co., LTD.
• Ms. Maxine LU, General Principal of Xiehe Education Center
• Mr. Paul LI, Principal of SUIS Wanyuan campus

In the launching ceremony, distinguished guests including Mr. Wang Weisong, and Mr.Tong Shijun, together with student representatives, being present on the stage and putting their hands on the handprints on the screen, jointly launched the Link·SH General Education Lecture Campus Tour series activities during the countdown of the audience, freezing a meaningful moment.

After the launching ceremony, SUIS Wanyuan Principal Paul Quan presented a specially customized commemorative photo frame to Mr. Tong Shijun to express respect and welcome to him.

In the core session of the event, Mr. Tong Shijun, President of New York University Shanghai, delivered an English lecture entitled “Why It Is Better to Know ‘Both Sides’ Than Only One’s ‘Own Side of the Question’”. During the nearly one-hour sharing session, with profound academic attainments and a broad international perspective, President Tong guided the students to explore Chinese and Western wisdom, learn to cross cultural differences, adhere to their Chinese identity, and cultivate global competence, bringing a feast of ideas to the teachers and students present. After the lecture, a bilingual interactive salon was held as scheduled. Student actively asked question and shared their insights, further deepening their understanding of the lecture theme and gaining a lot in the 15-minute in-depth exchange.

From the solemn and warm launching ceremony, to the ideological enlightenment of the lecture sharing, and then to the enthusiastic participation in the interactive session; from the confident expression on the stage, to the silent persistence behind the scenes; from the high recognition of the guests, to the full gains of the participants, every moment is worth remembering. The successful holding of this event is not only a concentrated reflection of the school’s comprehensive educational strength, but also a specific action of our school to build a diversified growth platform and promote the all-round development of students, opening a window of thought for students to connect with the world and inspire the future.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all leaders, distinguished guests for their support and presence.  It is this joint effort that made this event a complete success. In the future, SUIS Wanyuan will continue to stay true to its educational mission, deepen the cultivation of talents, host more high-quality campus activities, continuously build a bridge for cultural exchange between China and foreign countries, empower students’ growth, contribute to the development of education, and enable every SUIS student to go to a broader world from here with a Chinese heart and a global perspective!