Xi Jinping's expectations of students, young people

Students run on the playground in the new campus of the central school in Huagang school district in Feixi County of Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, on Aug. 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese students are returning to classrooms for the new school semester.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has attached great importance to young people, encouraging them to study hard and achieve well-rounded development. He has on many occasions expressed what he expects of young Chinese.

The following are some highlights of his quotes.

-- A person can have a lot of aspirations but the most important one should be about the motherland and people. This is the anchor of all concrete aspirations and the backbone of life.

-- Students should strive to have pure hearts, sound personalities and integrity; they should be educated, compassionate and ready to take on responsibilities.

-- I hope students stay hungry for knowledge, stay interested in exploration, cultivate the spirit of science, study hard and commit to practice.

-- We should adopt the educational philosophy that health comes first; make P.E. lessons a regular feature of the curriculum and devote enough time to them; help students enjoy physical exercise, improve their physical fitness, develop sound personalities and temper their will.

-- Young people should dare to dream. Spaceships, submarines [and other things] envisioned in classics from Chinese mythological novel "Journey to West" to Jules Verne's science fiction have all become real, haven't they? While dreaming big, young people also need to keep their feet on the ground and study hard, so as to make the dreams come true.

-- A nation will prosper only when its young people thrive; a country will be full of hope and have a great tomorrow only when its younger generations have ideals, ability and a strong sense of responsibility.