Dear alumni at home and abroad: With spring sunshine warming the air, the season of flowers is upon us. April 8, 2011, marks the 115th anniversary of the founding of Xi'an Jiaotong University and the 55th anniversary of its Move to the West. On this festive day for all the XJTU family, we extend our deep respect and heartfelt gratitude to the XJTU alumni at home and abroad who have long cared for and supported the construction and development of their alma mater!

Our university's stature today is the fruit of a long and sometimes arduous pioneering journey which began 115 years ago. The essence of that journey is summed up in the following phrase: "high starting point, solid foundation, demanding requirements, focus on practice". All along the way, we have been guided by a set of principles: "love your country and your school, pursue truth, be diligent and dependable, work hard and live simply," and, from the school motto, "rigor, integrity, determination and loyalty." These values have underpinned the education and edification of tens of thousands of students and the lives of a growing group of exceptional people who have passed through its doors and gone on to become pillars of Chinese society and have helped to construct XJTU's present prosperity with their extraordinary lives.

Time passes quickly and the vision is evolving day by day. Since moving to Xi'an, XJTU has taken root here in China's western soil, and has served China, while at the same time opening its eyes wide to the world, eagerly seeking innovative ideas. It has carefully nurtured its own development, composing in a key worthy of a 100 year old university. It has continued to explore, searching for the best ways to educate the creative and the talented. Recently, it has adopted the "2+4+X" model, instituted the "college system," created the "engineering workshop" and clearly articulated for the first time the need to cultivate both body and mind. A whole series of innovations—the Qian Xuesen Experimental Class, the Zonglian Experimental Class in Medicine, the Advanced Placement Class, and the special class for outstanding students in the basic disciplines—are all serving to provide the fertile soil which can nourish China's growth and its future leaders.

In research, XJTU has served the country well, helping to meet national targets and taking responsibility for a large number of key national projects, including 13 projects which are part of the "973" program. Basic research findings in a number of disciplines have achieved international recognition. Many of them have been published in internationally recognized journals such as Nature and Science. In a recent year, seven XJTU disciplines have had published articles which were ranked among the top 1% in the international ESI database. XJTU researchers have 31 times been recipients of three of the nation's most prestigious science awards—the "National Award for Natural Sciences," the "National Award for Technological Invention," and the "National Award for Science and Technology Progress"—a number which ranks fifth in the country. Clearly our competitiveness in science and technology is on the rise.

In team construction, XJTU currently has 20 participants in the "One Thousand Talents Plan." The proportion of XJTU faculty members who are either "One Thousand Talents" scholars, Jieqing professors or Changjiang Scholars ranks 9th among Chinese universities. Through international research structures such as Frontier Science and Technology Research Institute, International Dielectric Center and Xi'an Accelerator Mass Spectrum Center, XJTU faculty and researchers work together with leading scholars from other parts of the world including Germany and the United Kingdom. In the area of international exchange, XJTU has built substantial cooperative relationships with world class universities and academic institutions around the world. The "Distinguished Scholars Plan" has broadened our view, and our teaching and research have been upgraded by the "One Hundred Foreign Teachers Plan".

The year 2011 is the first year of full implementation for the "National Mid-Term and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development Plan". It is also the first year of XJTU's "12th Five-Year Plan" and of the third phase of the "985" national key construction projects. Working to complete these plans will inspire the university's faculty, researchers, and staff to plan carefully and methodically, consider all options, and work efficiently to achieve the goal of building a world-class international university. Without the interest and support of its alumni, XJTU cannot continue to develop. As we celebrate the anniversary of the university's founding, we enthusiastically invite you, our alumni at home and abroad to share your accumulated wisdom with your alma mater by all channels and means possible, and to help us build programs of significance and lasting importance so that our university will continue to prosper and its alumni will continue to succeed. We look forward to your support, financial and otherwise. And we wish you good health, family happiness, great success and good luck in all your endeavors!

　　The president of XJTU: ZHENG Nanning

　　The party secretary of XJTU: WANG Jianhua

　　April of 2011