A Chinese university has earned comparisons with Harry Potter’s Hogwarts due to its bizarre castle campus, but local traditions supplied the magic at a Confucian-style ceremony for its degree graduates.
The gigantic gray towers, stone walls and turrets of the Hebei Academy of Fine Arts’ castle complex dominate surrounding wheat fields near Xinle City in northern China.
The university, which has more than 8,000 students, made headlines last year when overseas media compared its new campus building with the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series of children’s novels.
Photo: AFP
“This castle has boosted the reputation of our academy across the world,” straggle-bearded college head Zhen Zhongyi (甄忠義) said as he stood in the brick and concrete building’s shadow.
“I aim to allow students to appreciate Western architecture without leaving the country,” he said, adding that he had invested 1.7 billion yuan (US$274 million) in the academy so far.
The school’s first crop of bachelor degree students graduated on Tuesday, after enrolling at the institution four years ago, when the campus castle was little more than a fantasy.
“We saw all these buildings gradually rising up over the last few years,” new graduate Wang Xiaotian said. “Obviously I’m very proud of that.”
At a ceremony inspired by ancient traditions, Wang and more than 1,000 others donned flowing white gowns outside a red-beamed temple on the campus dedicated to ancient sage Confucius.
Ceremonies inspired by Confucian tradition and Chinese Hanfu gowns with gaping sleeves have become increasingly popular in the country in recent years.
A college official patted each student with a white brush before they bowed in front of headmaster Zhen, who wore a black gown and his graying hair in a bun.
After a golf-cart ride back to the castle, new graduates — some changing into wedding gowns — posed for pictures and selfies in the fairy-tale surroundings.
Some seemed nervous about the future.
“I don’t want to leave college. My friends are all here. The school is great,” said Deng Cui, from the academy’s urban design school, who wore a white Hanfu gown with green trimming.
Most Chinese universities are state-run, but Zhen’s academy is one of a growing number of private institutions.
The painter-turned-academic said that he raised his initial investment from trading art in the 1990s and plans to expand the campus with a Baroque cathedral and a Middle Eastern-style mosque.
Zhen became aware of the Harry Potter series last year, he said, adding that he noticed the building’s style is “pretty much the same” as Hogwarts’.
Asked about comparisons with the wizarding school’s charismatic headmaster Albus Dumbledore, he replied enigmatically: “I think our style of thinking is somewhat similar.”
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
RSS