Zhang Donggang, secretary of the CPC Committee, Renmin University of China (RUC), recently visited the former site of the Northern Shaanxi Public School in Xunyi county, Shaanxi provincse, to meet with teachers and students participating in a summer social practice program.

A total of 11 students from the School of Marxism, the School of CPC History and Party Building, and the School of History are taking part in the social practice activity titled "Retracing the University's Historical Path". By following the footsteps of RUC which was born amid the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and nurtured under the care of the Party, the students are revisiting and reflecting on the university's wartime history.

Zhang joined the practice group in conducting research at the former site of the Northern Shaanxi Public School in Xunyi. The site is located in Kanhuagong village, Xunyi county. In 1938, the school established a branch campus in the village, and the branch officially opened on July 7 of the same year.

Zhang noted that during its operation in Xunyi, a large number of students from the school left their cave-dwelling classrooms and marched to the front lines of the war, becoming a vital force supporting the growth and consolidation of the anti-Japanese base areas and laying a solid foundation for victory in the War of Resistance. He emphasized that students should continuously study the university's history in order to gain a deep understanding of "where we come from",and carry forward RUC's glorious revolutionary traditions. 

In Kanhuagong village, the teachers and students also visited Ms. Qiao, a local resident in her nineties. As a firsthand witness to the history of the Northern Shaanxi Public School during its time in Xunyi, Ms. Qiao carefully collected and preserved books, personal items, and other valuable artifacts once used by the school's students. After the revolutionary victory, she donated these precious relics to the administration of the former site of the Northern Shaanxi Public School.