On the morning of September 8 ^th, a ceremony was held to welcome the new students of 2018 at 129 Sports Ground, Siping campus. A total of 4,450 undergraduate students, 6,931 graduate students and 1,437 international students gathered at a new starting point for their life in colorful university T-shirts. 

The ceremony started with the playing of the national anthem of China. Present at the ceremony were FANG Shouen, Party Secretary of the university; CHEN Jie, President of the university; WU Jiang, deputy President; XU Jianping, FANG Ping and FENG Shenhong, vice party secretaries and vice President LEI Xinghui. Mr. WU presided over the ceremony and read the undergraduate student list of scholarship winners. 

President CHEN delivered a speech to welcome new students from both home and abroad to join the Tongji family. According to him, since the establishment of Tongji University in 1907, the university has upheld its name as an institution dedicated to the country no matter what ups and downs it went through. It has been committed to its mission of developing together with the country and using science and technology to benefit the world, and has never suspended its teaching throughout its history. Over the years, people of Tongji adhered to the its aspirations of serving the people and the world with one heart and on the same boat and to the responsibility of rejuvenating the Chinese nation. An era has a theme of its own; and a generation a mission to itself. Students are expected to integrate their young dreams with the Chinese Dream, their dreams at Tongji with dreams in their life by staying fast to their aspirations and responsibility and making their contributions to the development of the country and revitalization of the nation. 

A large screen and rocker arms were set up for the students to better experience the ceremony broadcast live and to enable the students to interact with the university leaders and among themselves.