Academician Xu Zhihong Visits Los Angeles and Reunites with Peking University Alumni

— Sharing His Educational Philosophy and Life Insights

LAPost / Orange County (October 14, 2025) — Xu Zhihong, Chairman of the Peking University Education Foundation (USA), Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and former President of Peking University, recently visited Los Angeles. During his two-day stay, he engaged in several warm and meaningful gatherings with Peking University alumni across Southern California.

On the evening of October 13, former Chairman of the Peking University Alumni Association of Southern California, member of the Committee of 100, and renowned Chinese American entrepreneur Richard Lee (Li Ya) hosted a dinner in Orange County to welcome Academician Xu. Guests in attendance included Professor Janice Lu from Stanford University School of Medicine and alumnus Weining Yang, who drove two hours from Southern California to join the event.

The event was hosted by Yong Chen, current President of the Peking University Alumni Association of Southern California. Also present were former presidents and current board members Dr. Xing Pan, Dr. Lei Xu (Professor at California State University, Fullerton), and Dr. Yufa Liu. Business and community leaders such as Mr. and Mrs. Shihai Li (Honorary Presidents of the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce), current President Ningguo Lin, and entrepreneur Chunli Zhao also attended.

During the evening, Academician Xu fondly recalled his first visit to Los Angeles years ago. As a plant physiologist, he was inspired by research exchanges at UCLA related to traditional Chinese medicine ingredients. He spoke passionately about his belief that national stability and development are the foundation of people’s happiness, and emphasized that the mission of university education lies in cultivating talent in all walks of life. “Even the pig-farming champion from Peking University should make us proud,” he said humorously, encouraging alumni to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their country, society, and careers—wherever they may be.

The atmosphere was both intimate and cheerful. Xu joked, “Peking University students, both men and women, are outstanding — you don’t necessarily have to look outside PKU to find your partner!” He also shared stories from his post-retirement work in China’s nature reserves, praised their recent progress, and expressed deep interest in the growth of younger generations and “second- and third-generation” PKU alumni abroad.

Thoughtfully, Xu prepared a personal gift for every attendee — Plants of Yanyuan, a book he co-edited — and signed each copy in person. One alumna, who graduated from the Department of Chemistry during Xu’s presidency, pulled up a photo of her diploma on her phone to compare signatures, exclaiming with delight that “the signature is exactly the same as the one on my diploma!”

Toward the end of the evening, Richard Lee and Lei Xu surprised Academician Xu with a birthday cake celebrating his October birthday. The cake bore the words “Happy Birthday” and “PKU” in both Chinese and English, along with a symbolic pair of “invisible wings”—a nod to Xu’s unexpected rise to online fame after performing Invisible Wings during Peking University’s 2008 New Year Gala. Xu smiled brightly as he took photos of the cake, while the song was played once again, filling the room with warmth and nostalgia.

The gathering concluded amid laughter, music, and heartfelt farewells, with Academician Xu shaking hands with each attendee before leaving.

Earlier, on October 12, Dr. Lei Xu hosted a luncheon for Academician Xu in Irvine, joined by renowned historian Professor Darin Fan and other alumni. That afternoon, Xu visited the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to attend “When Weiming Meets the Future”, the second session of the Alumni Association’s Education Salon Series. In a dialogue themed “Conversations Across Three Generations”, Xu shared his experiences in academia and administration, reflecting on the essence of education and encouraging the younger generation to cherish time, pursue excellence, and stay true to their ideals. His candid and humorous insights deeply resonated with alumni and their children.

That evening, Xu reunited once more with alumni for dinner, where they reminisced about their cherished days at Yanyuan and exchanged thoughts on the future of their alma mater.

Academician Xu departed Los Angeles for Beijing on October 14.

(Written by: Richard Ren / LAPost)