Fudan University, one of China's prestigious colleges, will begin a year-long 100th anniversary celebration tomorrow, school officials announced yesterday.

The centenary celebration series will consist of more than 100 activities, including international forums, academic symposia, conferences and campus building inaugurations.

Academic summits and conferences will account for more than 50 percent of the total events, Fudan officials said.

"We will focus on academics as the soul of our celebration and try to carry out all activities in a simple but impressive manner," said university President Wang Shenghong.

Founded in 1905, Fudan is China's first private university. Fudan merged with the country's earliest medical school, Shanghai Medical University, to create the current institution in 2000.

The year-long festivities will start with a New Year race at the Oriental Pearl TV and Broadcast Tower tomorrow morning, during which 2005 Fudan faculty and students will run to the top of the city's iconic spire.

On May 27, Fudan will issue a set of 100th anniversary memorial stamps, becoming the second Chinese university to do so, following the centenary of Beijing University in 1998.

Among the academic events is "The Economic Globalization and the Choice of Asia Forum" on May 16 and 17. Nearly 300 renowned scholars and past and present international officials will gather at Fudan for the event.

The highlight celebration ceremony is scheduled for September 24 and 25, a weekend commemorating the arrival of the first batch of Fudan students on September 14, 1905, according to university officials.

The university's new campus in the city's northeastern Jiangwan area will be completed and put into use in September.

(China Daily December 31, 2004)