Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

A 78-year-old man has graduated from the Shekou Branch of Shenzhen Open University, becoming the oldest graduate in the city.

Wu Liangmei gained a bachelor’s degree at the university. He is now preparing to start his master’s degree in September.

Wu has also won the esteem of his family. “My grandfather was an outstanding student. He went hiking, singing and dancing with his young classmates and he used an iPhone and iPad as communication. He is a whizz with the Internet,” said his 8-year-old granddaughter.

Wu came to Shenzhen after retiring and used his managerial experience to help his son open a factory in the city.

“I find the life of a retiree boring. I did not know what to do until I saw enrollment information in a newspaper one day. At that moment I set a target and decided to go to college,” said Wu.

When Wu first went to the college for consultation, the admissions officers were surprised. “I thought going to college at the age of 71 was something that only happened on TV. But Wu was full of confidence and passion, so we decided to take him in,” said a member of staff surnamed Ye.

In the beginning, Wu felt self-conscious when studying with many “little boys and girls” and many students thought he was a visiting official.

“But luckily, I developed a good relationship with my classmates. Sometimes I drove them to Zhuhai, Qingyuan and Zhongshan for weekends. It’s fun to spend time with young people,” said Wu.

A hard-working student, Wu often got up at 4 a.m. and reviewed his books until 8 a.m. He would spend his afternoon on study before going to the university at 7 p.m. “At junior college, I majored in administrative management. It was relatively easy for me because I could learn knowledge with my years of experience at work. But when I entered undergraduate school, I changed my major to law. It was something that was quite different from anything I had learnt before and the experience gave me a new angle from which to look at the world,” he said.

However, studying law was difficult. “I have a bad memory, so I had to study much harder than the others,” said Wu.

Wu plans to study literature at postgraduate school, but he is still looking for the right university. “I just want to learn something. It is fun, not for fame or money,” he said. He plans to travel around the country with his wife after he completes his master’s degree.