In the blink of an eye, the four-day Peking University Astronomy Summer Camp has come to an end. Carrying emotions of reluctance, with tears of nostalgia in our eyes, and waving a hand in farewell, the campers have each set off on their own journeys home. Beautiful times always fly by like an arrow. Despite the myriad of helplessness and reluctance, we still feel satisfied to have had this precious time of gathering. Indeed, no matter where we go, we will never forget that we once met. We have never forgotten that under the starry sky, there is a group of people like me, silently gazing at the brilliant Milky Way; and we are always looking forward to the arrival of the next astronomical gathering.
Closing my eyes, the days of gathering seem like yesterday, and the scenes of our meeting seem to be right before my eyes. Everything was so beautiful and so precious.
Registration (July 11)
In order to arrive at Peking University (PKU) within the day, I left my home at 6:30 AM, took a four-hour bus ride to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, and met with my teammate Ding Jiani, whom I met at the national competition in Guyuan, Ningxia last year. After completing the check-in procedures, the plane took off around 12:00 PM, and we landed at Beijing International Airport around 3:00 PM. After an hour’s drive, we arrived at the Southwest Gate of PKU.
As soon as we stepped into the campus gate, we were first struck by surprise. Unlike other universities I have visited, what met our eyes were not grand high-rise buildings, but rather a slightly classical architectural style. This gave us "visitors" from afar a sense of intimacy. Arriving at the registration desk of the guest house, we met a group of campers who had arrived earlier than us—some were old friends we had met before, and others were new friends we were meeting for the first time. The feeling was so familiar and pleasant. We were quite lucky; at that time, there were only two rooms left in the guest house, which happened to accommodate us. Had we been a bit later, we would have had to stay in another hotel. After briefly familiarizing ourselves with the environment, we had our first dinner at PKU.
After dinner, we found that the campers had disappeared. After receiving a message from Zhu Yujian, we learned that they had all rushed to the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA, the main venue for our activities). Looking at the watch, it was already 6:45 PM. It seemed we were to be the first latecomers of this summer camp. Regardless, we took out the map to find KIAA. The result surprised us even more: we were staying at the southwest corner of PKU, while KIAA was at the northeast corner... We ran and ran, and twenty minutes later, we arrived.
The evening activities were actually quite simple: first, we were divided into 8 groups, then we had group discussions and elected group leaders, followed by dividing into two classes and electing class monitors. After these tasks were completed, several seniors from the Department of Astronomy took us on a night tour of PKU... The day hastily came to a close.
Opening Ceremony (July 12)
Actually, today was the first official day of the summer camp. The opening ceremony was still held at KIAA, hosted by Professor Wu Xuebing. After speeches from the PKU Admissions Office, the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), the Beijing Planetarium, and KIAA leadership, several reports were given: Director Lin Chao gave a report titled "Planets," Director Xue Suijian introduced the NAOC and lectured on the "National Astronomical Development Plan," and Professor M.B.N. (Thijs) Kouwenhoven gave an English report titled "The Birth, Life, and Death of Stars." During this time, all campers took a group photo in front of KIAA. In this process, I discovered that among the campers, there were not only long-time astronomy enthusiasts but also students with excellent academic records from various schools. Compared to them, I felt a bit "pale in comparison." But regardless, everyone came here with curiosity about astronomy and a longing for PKU, and it was well worth communicating with each other.
In the afternoon, we still had to walk for more than twenty minutes from our rooms to KIAA to participate in the activities. This session was hosted by Professor Fan Zuhui, featuring "Galactic Surveys" by Professor Liu Xiaowei and "The quest for ever larger telescopes" by Professor Richard de Grijs. Listening to the questions asked by the campers, I felt the gap between myself and them; especially after listening to Professor Richard de Grijs’s lecture, I deeply felt that my English level was truly "not keeping up with the trend"... It seems that "the revolution is not yet successful, and I still need to work hard!"
The evening was free time. Campers could explore and communicate on their own, or prepare for the performance at the closing ceremony in their rooms.
My Meals at Peking University
The Observatory (July 13)
The main activity of this day was visiting the National Astronomical Observatories. First, we visited the NAOC headquarters and listened to two reports on the "Lunar Exploration Project" and "Space Debris." Around ten o’clock, we set off for LAMOST—the Guo Shoujing Telescope!
Speaking of which, this was already my third time in Beijing. The previous two times were for the national team training and participating in the 4th IOAA, but I never had the chance to see the legendary LAMOST, which was a regret. After a two-and-a-half-hour long journey, we arrived at Xinglong and saw LAMOST with our own eyes. Just as I had seen in pictures many times before, it was so majestic and grand, standing like a mighty warrior on the peaks of Xinglong, peering into the mysteries of the sky.
While admiring its heroic posture and listening to the teacher explain its story, we had already forgotten our fatigue and hunger.
After lunch, we finally ate at around 2:30 PM. What a delicious meal! After that, we set off back to PKU, and in the evening, we continued preparing for the performance.
The Planetarium (July 14)
The keyword for this day was "Planetarium." In the morning, we went to KIAA as usual. First, we listened to Professor Fan Zuhui lecture on "Galactic Cosmology," and then Director Zhu Jin of the Beijing Planetarium came to talk with us. We chatted about astronomy, the universe, and various other topics in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
The afternoon was for visiting the Beijing Planetarium. We didn’t have time for lunch and went straight to the subway station. At the planetarium, we first watched "Exploring the Universe" and "Mysterious Interstellar." While watching these two short films, I was lost in thought because they reminded me of the situation when I participated in the IOAA last year. I still clearly remember a line from "Galileo" in "Exploring the Universe": "Ghosts have the benefits of ghosts"... Everything was so beautiful!
Next was supposed to be the 4D film "Journey Through the Cambrian." However, I didn’t go to see it. Instead, Zhu Yujian and I took this time to wander around the planetarium. We first went to various souvenir shops to buy some souvenirs, and then we scoured the Reader Service Department (Room 608) on the sixth floor of the office building, trying to find books. When I participated in the IOAA last year, I was too busy accompanying foreign friends to shopping malls and didn’t have time to buy books for myself. This time, I had to buy a few no matter what. After shopping, we caught the last film—"2312 Space Adventure" (3D). Actually, this was my first time watching a 3D movie, and it felt quite novel. But perhaps my imagination isn’t strong enough, as I felt I hadn’t quite integrated into the 3D effects of the film.
Examination (July 15)
Starting from 8:30 AM, a three-hour written examination was held. It is said that in previous years, the written test questions were diverse, and even Sudoku appeared! But this year was a bit different; the questions were all about astronomy. I think the Department of Astronomy’s goal was to select true astronomy enthusiasts. Regardless of the questions, I had to do my best. After finishing, I felt like I had experienced another Astronomy Olympiad, revisiting that long-lost sense of excitement.
The afternoon was interview time. For a shy person like me, the interview was the hardest part. We were interviewed in groups. Our group was handled by a PKU professor and a professor from the National Astronomical Observatories. They first asked us to introduce ourselves. When it was my turn, my heart was beating fast. I finally managed to suppress the tension, but my speech was still a bit intermittent and slightly impolite, though I finished the introduction. Next, we talked about various interesting topics, such as "Do you think we should look for aliens?", "Do you think the division between arts and sciences is suitable for high school?", "Your parents’ attitude towards your study of astronomy," and so on. During the conversation, we also increased our mutual understanding, and that feeling of a racing heart slowly disappeared. Like everyone else, I was doing my best to show my pursuit of astronomy and love for the universe until the time quietly flowed to the end of the interview.
The long-prepared evening party finally arrived. After a simple closing ceremony, we quickly entered the performances. The programs prepared by the fellow enthusiasts were truly colorful! There were songs, cross-talk, recitations, and our "Olympiad party" sang the Olympiad version of "In the Spring" together. There was also an impromptu performance by our lovely Director Zhu Jin. At this moment, I realized that my fellow campers were not only knowledgeable but also multi-talented—they were all "titans"! The party ended around 9:30 PM. At the party, we sang out our craze for astronomy, our obsession with the starry sky, our memories of the Olympiad, and our reluctance to part with friends—that is the common voice of us astronomy enthusiasts. May we meet again at PKU next year!
Departure (July 16)
Beautiful times are always so short. We took one last walk around PKU with reluctance and then got into the taxi to the airport. After the final gathering during the three-hour flight, we waved goodbye and set off on our respective ways home.
The summer camp activities have ended, leaving an indelible memory in each of our hearts. I write this article to commemorate this precious gathering and to share it with all readers. I hope every reader can continue to keep their dreams in their hearts and always chase their dreams.
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