Premier Wen Jiabao recently visited his alma mater, the Tianjin-based Nankai Middle School, and inspired young students to pursue lofty courses and work toward the nation's rejuvenation.
"The six-year study in Nankai Middle School has greatly influenced my outlook, and left an indelible imprint on the course of my life," Wen told about 1,500 students and teachers gathered in the school hall.
Fifty-one years after graduating from the school, he shared his childhood memories and recalled his days at Nankai from 1954 to 1960.
Wen said the first thing he learned from Nankai was that one must have lofty aspirations, adding that young people should also exhibit independent thought, curiosity for truth and perseverance.
"It has taken the efforts of several generations for China to achieve modernization, and the historical mission rests upon the shoulders of the nation's youth. The strength of China depends on the competence of its youth," Wen said.
Wen noted that the middle school had cultivated batches of excellent talents for the country's development in times of both war and peaceful reconstruction.
He encouraged students to live up to Nankai's school motto which he interpreted as: dedication to public good, progress, innovation and pioneering.
Wen also visited the school history museum and various extra-curricular student clubs, and he paid tribute to the statue of former Premier Zhou Enlai, who was also a Nankai alumnus.
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