US students' nostalgia for academic trip to China

A week after having visited Chinese campuses and scenic sites via the Qiuzhen & American Students Academic Exchange Program, the US students have returned home cherish memories during the trip to China and long for the next time.

The program held by Tsinghua University's Qiuzhen College opened earlier in January, inviting young students from top US universities to learn about China and talk with their Chinese counterparts to cultivate talents that can overcome major scientific problems cooperatively.

Shing-Tung Yau, a renowned mathematician and director of QiuZhen College said the program focuses on academic cooperation in the new era of in-depth integration of international exchanges.

"We encourage students from China and the United States to participate in exploration, as well as future contributions to the field of mathematics. I hope that these young students will get a better understanding of Chinese professors and students," said Yau.

Nicolai Reshetikhin, a professor at Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University, said that in order to provide a stronger foundation for the advancement of the mathematical field, Tsinghua University has also assembled a group of highly esteemed mathematicians and vibrant young academic students, building a higher platform for the development of the mathematics discipline.

Eighteen PhD students from top American universities who came to China to study at Tsinghua University's Qiuzhen College were invited to join the academic seminar, considering the possibility of collaborating with mathematicians in China.

"This trip really did change my understanding of Chinese mathematics. When I return to Berkeley, I will talk to Professor Reshetikhin about returning to Tsinghua University. It is certainly an outstanding place for mathematics. I hope that this is the start of a long and prosperous academic collaboration between Chinese and American students in mathematics," said Alan Goldfarb, a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, in a thank-you message after returning to the US.

"I've made friends with some of the best Chinese students in mathematics via the program. They're very friendly, very intelligent, very open. I think the purpose of the trip is to develop strong relationships that carry on into the future. It's the very beginning of a new era of scientific collaboration between American and Chinese. I already have plans to come back in the next year. My academic advisor in the United States is organizing a school in China that I'm going to attend in June," said Samuel DeHority, a PhD student at Columbia University in the City of New York, who visited China for the first time.

Brian Zhiguang Sun, a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, said that in China, the US and Europe, there are excellent mathematicians everywhere. Mathematics is not only one country's business. So China and the US should cooperate.

"I hope that this is the start of a long and prosperous academic collaboration between Chinese and American students in mathematics," said Eric Matthew Boniface, a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, in a thank-you message after returning to the US.

During the trip, the students also visited places of interest such as the Summer Palace, which gave them an unforgettable impression of China.

Alan Goldfarb, a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, said that the Summer Palace is incredibly detailed compared to the Western architecture that he is used to seeing. He thinks it's very pretty.

"I'm excited to get to meet new people and it's always exciting to travel to new places. The Summer Palace is really pretty. I'm really upset that we can't go skating on the lake," said Maya Ratnam Sankar, a PhD student at Stanford University.

This program is the beginning of a series of activities that will promote academic channels between the US and China. Yau expected them to hold more sessions in the future to further promote exchanges between the two nations.

Yang Qingqing contributed to this story.