On May 8, a rainy day, Saibiding Ximuxiding, from Xinjiang, an undergraduate student of College of Pharmacy Nankai University, walked out of the traffic island of Tianjin Binhai International Airport at 00:06 and immediately saw the Nankai Teachers who had come to greet him. He was very excited. I'm really touched! I didn't expect the teachers to come all the way from the city to pick me up at this late hour. I feel so sorry to trouble them. I really missed school, so much!

Saibiding Ximuxiding was the first senior at Nankai University to return to school, and his arrival marked the beginning of the back-to-school work in the spring of 2020.

Back to Nankai, Rain or Shine

During the day of the 7th, it began to drizzle in Tianjin. At night, the rain became heavier and the temperature began to drop. This made the receiving work more difficult. But those faculty volunteers took part in the pick-up, regardless of the bad weather and they arrived at receiving sites of “Three Stations and One Airport” on time at 10:00 on the 7th.

Late on the night of the 7th, the Press Center reporters followed the receiving teams to go to each station for field stations. The Rain was getting heavier and heavier. The receiving site of Tianjin Railway Station was on a dirt road covered with muddy water. The teachers in the receiving station were wet to the skin. However, all of them were standing still and remained at their posts, ready to welcome the first batch of Nankai students who arrived in Tianjin in the early morning of the 8th. The figure of the teachers was particularly clear on that stormy night.

At 1:43, the Z386 train entered the Tianjin station. Jiang Zhangzun, a 2016 undergraduate from the College of Chemistry, was one of the first batch of students to arrive in Tianjin and to return to school that day. He arrived at the check-in point under guidance. All the teachers at the pick-up station welcomed him in order to make him have a smooth arrival.

Hello, we'll take you back to school!  It’s been a long time, welcome home!  In the wind and rain, Nankai is waiting for you!  These warm words from the teachers offset the coldness of the spring night.

Welcome back to Tianjin! Please take your temperature” “Please scan your ID” “Please show your Tianjin Health Code” “Please disinfect your hand and luggage by using disinfectant wet wipes” “Please wear this new sterilized mask” “This is your boarding card and please follow the guider to the vehicle.

The receiving teacher was taking the temperature of the “back-to-school” students

The whole process was orderly and efficient. The News Center reporter saw that after arriving at the bus, Jiang Changzun also needed to scan the Jinmen Zhanyi Two-dimensional code (A Small Program for epidemic prevention and control in Tianjin), register information, disinfect hands and then take the seat according to the seat number accompanied by the receiving teachers to return to school.

“All the passengers have arrived and there is no abnormal condition, can we start?” “Yes!” After confirming once again that there is no abnormal condition, the duty officer gave the order to start the bus. The pick-up bus started slowly and drove to Nankai campus, which students had been missing for a longtime.

This process has been carried out simultaneously at Tianjin Railway Station, Tianjin West Station, Tianjin South Station and Tianjin Binhai International Airport. Nankai teachers were warm-hearted with meticulous and thoughtful service to ensure that each student could safely return to school.

“As soon as I got out of the station, I saw the teachers waiting for us to safeguard us in our back to school. I felt warm inside as if I had already arrived at school. When I get back to school, I’ll immediately go back to the lab, fill up some data for my thesis, and throw myself into my thesis defense to get through this extraordinary graduation.” Jiang said.

On May 8, Nankai campus, which had been quiet for more than 100 days, has become lively again.

In the wind and rain, dozens of people of the staff from the Security Office, the office, the School Hospital, went to the reception entrance of Balitai campus and Jinnan Campus of Nankai University before 7:00 a.m.

Everybody says: welcoming our long-lost students to come back home is particularly exciting! A little rain and wind are nothing compared to the safety of the students.

A teacher on duty at the gate could not help but shed tears when he heard that students want to go back to school after graduation.

Everything is ready for your return

In order to ensure the resumption of classes and the security of the epidemic prevention, Nankai University carefully deploys to solidly promote the work of students’ return and welcome students with both warmth and tough prevention and control measures, which ensures the peace of mind of students, parents, and society in the whole.

Before the students’ return to school, under the unified leadership for the prevention and control of the new coronavirus epidemic, all units have continuously improved the epidemic prevention and control and the plan designed for the students' return. All faculty members have worked overtime, strengthened safety management, made good reserves of materials, developed Epidemic Prevention Emergency Information Statistical Platform, and completed campus sanitation as well as deep disinfection, striving to provide an accurate, healthy, warm-hearted back-to-school services.

After boarding, students scan the code and register the information

May 8th to 10th are the days when students returned to school. All the departments of the school are engaged in their work. Multiple departments have coordinated to formulate work plans, including Communist Youth League, the Reception Service Center, the Logistic Affairs Department, the Information Office, the Propaganda Department, the Party Committee of the Department, the Health Center, the Security Department.

Receiving station—Tianjin Railway Station

More than 150 volunteers, including all the staff of the Academic research group, College Counselors, Youth Cadres, teachers and administrative staff of some colleges, went to the Tianjin Railway Station, Tianjin West Station, Tianjin South Station, Tianjin Binhai International Airport and other transportation hubs to provide round-the-clock services to the students returning to Tianjin.

Receiving station-- Tianjin West Station

Receiving station--Tianjin South Station

Receiving site-- Tianjin Binhai International Airport

Self-driving or other means of non-“Three Stations and One Airport” students returned to school from the South gate, West gate of Balitai campus, and the West gate, Northwest gate of Jinnan Campus. More than 60 government officials went to each post as volunteers to serve the students together with the staff of the Security Department.

The student work team are fully committed to the front line.

The School Reception Service Center and the Tianjin Bus Group have worked together to mobilize nearly 300 transfer buses for students from the “Three Stations and One Airport” to take them back to campus.

Pick-up vehicles

The school hospital dispatched the medical staff to “Three Stations and One Airport” and emergency isolation points at each school gate. They have always prepared for emergency handling of abnormal situations.

The Logistics Services Departments have pooled resources to provide enough supplies of epidemic prevention for the returning students and all units and departments were involved in this work.

In addition, the Catering Service Centers, Libraries, Colleges, Stadium and other units have also been fully prepared to wait for the return of students.

Tough prevention and control system with full warmth and safety

Since the early morning of the 8th, the number of students reporting back to school had gradually increased. The epidemic prevention and control work in each link were being continuously promoted to ensure the safety of the returning students.

In “Three Stations and One Airport”, epidemic prevention facilities with identifications were available, such as disinfection mat, one-meter waiting line, temperature measuring points, disinfection points, discarded masks bins. All processes proceed methodically including guidance, temperature measurement, verification, hand and luggage disinfection, distribution and wearing of masks.

After the verification, students could board the bus with their personal information and seat number. After that, as long as they completed the processes (registering basic information, scanning the Jinmen Zhanyi Two-dimensional code and disinfecting hands) and after getting on the bus they could be safely taken back to school.

Self-returning students need three steps to enter the campus: firstly, get masks and disinfected wipes, disinfect luggage and hands, change masks, take body temperature; secondly, scan Jinmen Zhanyi Two-dimensional code; finally, Show the ID Card or the campus card to check the identity, then take the shuttle bus back to the dormitory.

We have designed and arranged four special lanes for back-to-school testing, so that the back-to-school process is both clear and warm said a relevant person in charge of the Security Office. He also mentioned that a simulation practice for students returning to school was specially organized, and guard cadres and security forces were deployed and trained to ensure the safe return of students and epidemic prevention and Control.

Back-to-school testing lane at Jinnan Campus
A student checking back-to-school information

Temporary isolation points are set up at the sites of “Three Stations and One Airport” and at the entrances of each campus to deal with various abnormal conditions happened on body temperature and health code. Wang Yuekun, a doctor at the university hospital, said that the temporary isolation points would only be activated in case of emergency and responded to the emergency according to the requirements of the superior department and the deployment of the school. I hope we can work together and are waiting for the rain to pass and the warm spring flowers to bloom Wang said.

The dormitory is the main place of students’ life and the focus of epidemic prevention and control. One leader from the Center of the Instructors introduced that in advance the dormitory buildings have been fully exterminated, the equipment upgraded, the epidemic prevention supplies prepared in order to welcome the students. Moreover, every student who returned to school is issued with an accommodation certificate and a health pack. Each dormitory building is equipped with face thermometers, electronic thermometers, ultraviolet disinfection lamps and other epidemic prevention facilities. At the same time, an emergency material box containing protective clothing, goggles, gloves, masks, hats, shoe covers, etc. is prepared for emergency use by the staff in order to better enhance safety factor of each dormitory building.

“Glad to be back in Nankai, at last!” Li Jing, a 2017 postgraduate student from the College of Philosophy returned to his dormitory via the northwest gate of the Jinnan campus at 10:30 a.m. After checking the identity, registering information and testing the temperature, Zhang Xueai, dormitory administrator, told her how to correctly use the items in the health pack.

The school has prepared a health kit for the returning students, which includes masks, mercury thermometers, alcohol cotton, residence cards, garbage bags and a brochure introducing precautions and instructions for epidemic prevention and control in the dormitory life. It is worth mentioning that it has also prepared a set of custom cutleries in the health pack, hoping that students could pay attention to healthy eating and personal protection.

“After students’ return to school, the counselor team will go to the student dormitory area to work. Each dormitory building is also equipped with a speaker to remind students to open windows on time every day to make sure of ventilation disinfection. At the same time, this team also provides professional training to property management staff, defines epidemic prevention requirements, and ensures safe and standardized dormitory management after students’ return to school” said a component of the staff from the School Life Guidance Center.

I feel so happy to have meals in Nankai Again!  Li Hui, a senior of the Chemistry College, said when waiting in line for the meal.

In order to further strengthen the prevention and control management of the epidemic in each link of the school canteens and to ensure the safety of the diet and health of the teachers and students during their stay at school, the Food Service Center again conducted a comprehensive safety inspection of the canteens of the two campuses, and at the same time, a series of epidemic prevention measures have been launched according to the standard of epidemic prevention and control.

The reporter of the News Center in the dining hall saw that when teachers and students go to the dining hall to have their meals, they must line up orderly at the entrance of the canteen, while keeping a certain distance, passing the temperature measurement and scanning the QR code to get an access to enter the dining hall. They have meals at intervals of more than 1 meter and the dining area is set up as a table for one person and one-way interval sitting to ensure the safety of dining. At the same time, some dining halls have pasted special hooks on the table for hanging masks. After the resumption of classes, the Food Service Center will further strengthen food safety inspection, strengthen the implementation of epidemic prevention measures in the canteen to ensure the food safety of teachers and students.

It's hard to hide the excitement surrounded by a sense of security and happiness

The Beautiful Nankai campus is full of placards and display boards welcoming the students who have been away for a long time.

Wang Kang, a postgraduate of Chemistry College returning from Shandong excitedly said: “I finally came back to Nankai. Our teachers have made adequate preparations: they patiently asked for the place of residence, took our body temperature several times, handed out masks and health packs with patience. The dormitories are thoroughly disinfected, which makes us safe and secure to live and study on campus. Thanks to the school and the teachers for their hard work. As I am on the threshold of graduation, I will cherish my time in Nankai while protecting myself.”

Chen Jie, a 2017 postgraduate student from School of Marxism said that the outbreak of the epidemic has made students experience an unprecedented long vacation, during the which students have experienced from anticipation and joy of a holiday to impatience and long waiting, which makes them miss school even more. “This morning, after verification, temperature measurement, disinfection and other procedures, I put on the school love mask, I have entered the campus and returned to the dormitory. I personally feel the efficiency and order of the school's epidemic prevention and control work, and in that case I could feel more secure in my study and life.”

The school has very well prepared and the whole process is completed. All the items are disinfected and we can all get a big bag of masks,  said Zhao Lin, a 2016 Law School undergraduate student from Baoding, Hebei Province, who felt a sense of belonging.

“It feels so warm and safe when the familiar dormitory administrator greets us!” Said Ma Yao, a senior of the College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering from Tianjin. She hopes that teachers and staff members take care of their own health and safety while protecting everybody.

Qiu Jinyuan, a graduate student of the School of Economics, drove back to school early this morning from Tianjin Binhai New Area. When he saw the familiar scenery on the campus again, he could not help but say: “When I returned to Nankai after a lapse of nearly three months, I felt very warm when I saw the staff serving us in the west gate despite the wind and rain”. Quarantine the virus but not the love. Nankai is still waiting for us to come back. Let’s praise the busy staff, working on the front line of the back-to school work.”

Enshi, Hu Bei province, is the place where Tianjin medical teams help each other to fight against the epidemic. I left the school when the plum blossoms were not in bloom, and now I come back when the winter jasmine is withered. I have thought about the scene of graduation farewell many times, but now I feel that I am lucky enough to be back to school. When I saw the school pick-up point at the airport, the first thought out of my mind was that I was finally back, really. Thanks to every hard work of the teachers who let us have a chance to say goodbye to Nankai  said Yao Yuzhuo, a graduate of the History College from Enshi.

(Reported by Wu Junhui, Nie Jici, Ma Chao, Lan Fang, Qiao Renming, Hao Jingqiu and Zong Qiqi, Translated by Hu Mengy,Edited by Davide Francolino and JianjingYun)