Author: Song Bo

Translated by: Cao Mi, Wu Xia

On March 6, it was drizzling continuously and it was also the first day for the anti-pandemic medical staff to visit the campus through the green channel. Luojia Hill welcomed the first group of those distinguished guests, the amount of which surmounted 200, with the cherry blossoms in its full bloom.

Huge printings were placed at the West Gate, Zall Stadium, the Administration Building, Cherry Blossom Castle and so on with the theme of “Waiting for the anti-pandemic heroes to come back; Welcoming those distinguished guests with romantic cherry blossoms”. The campus was filled with the ambience of warmth and sincerity. Early in the morning, the volunteers arrived at their posts early and made full preparation to welcome the medical staff.

At 8:30 am, the first group of guests, four medical staff from Jingzhou, received warm welcome from the volunteers at the West Gate. After passing through the arch of “Salute to the Anti-pandemic Heroes” and the ceremonious red carpet, they approached the signature wall and left their words to WHU. Then the volunteers helped the staff to put on the medals saluting the anti-pandemic heroes with the elements of cherry blossom and led them to tour the campus and enjoy the cherry blossoms.

Dr. Da, a member of the Gansu Provincial Medical Team, aided Wuhan Youfu Hospital during the pandemic. Today, with her family, she came to Wuhan, where she once fought against the virus. She said, “My husband and I were in the frontline of the fight while he defended our hometown and I guarded Wuhan. I felt both excited and happy to obtain this opportunity to come here and appreciate the cherry blossom.”

“The older brothers and sisters in WHU, who tutored me are so kind. My goal is to get admitted to WHU,” said the child of Mrs. Luo, a doctor from Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital. During the pandemic, Dr. Luo worked in temporary treatment centers, and her children participated in the program of “Caring for the Children of Frontline Medical Staff” initiated by WHU. Over the past four months, deep friendship was formed between her children and the volunteers. Dr. Luo said, “The aim of today’s visit to WHU, a university with profound history, is to express my gratitude to those volunteers, as well as to motivate my child to study hard.”

At about 11 a.m, Yan Ziyue, a Year 2019 undergraduate from the School of Resource and Environmental Sciences had just finished her guiding and said: “I was born in Hubei Province. During the pandemic, the medical staff provided the immediate aid to Wuhan, which touched me a lot. It’s a happy and romantic thing for me to meander with those heroes under the cherry trees.”

Luo Yi, a Year 2019 undergraduate from the School of Journalism and Communication, guided the medical staff of Guangdong Provincial Medical Team. She said, with a sense of accomplishment, “Due to the COVID-19, it is also the first time for me to appreciate the cherry blossom. I felt that I was the true WHUer especially when I accompanied the staff and shared with them the history of WHU.”

In order to express the deepest gratitude of WHUers, WHU set up a green channel for the anti-pandemic medical staff to appreciate cherry blossoms during the cherry blossom period. The anti-pandemic medical staff could register through the green channel in the official website and official WeChat account. The university also set up two days on March 13 and 14 to invite the medical team and medical staff to visit the school to appreciate the cherry blossoms. During this period, no other public appointments were accepted. During the two days, WHU manifest its gratitude through the warming welcome ceremony, the special show for the medical staff, the well-designed route to appreciate the cherry blossom and one to one service of the volunteers. WHU strived to demonstrate its characteristics to the full, the human-centered philosophy and social responsibility through the careful arrangement and meticulous service.

The green channel for the anti-pandemic medical staff