As the national anthem was broadcast by the campus radio of Tianjin University on the morning of April 4－Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day－a group of students stood in line before presenting flower baskets and paying silent tribute to a statue of Zhang Tailei (1898-1927), the first member of the Communist Party of China in the northern municipality.

They were from the Tailei Class, a training program named for the martyr, whose members are recruited at the prestigious university via stringent tests including regular curricular studies and morality.

In their spare time, the members are dedicated to the study of Marxism, Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and taking part in the country's poverty-relief efforts.

Zhang was an early leader of the CPC and one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Youth League.

After graduating from Tianjin University－then called Beiyang University－he joined the democratic revolution and led the youth movement.

In December 1927, the 29-year-old was killed during a labor strike action in Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong province, offering his life and youth to the cause of building a new society and a new China.

His oath was "I want to become thunder to break up the 'old world'."

During the April 4 commemorations, the students pledged to learn patriotic spirit from Zhang and pledged to the Party that they would replicate his commitment and contribute to the country's future.

According to the university, the Tailei Class was established in 2006 in a bid to boost leadership for students and foster more youth leaders with patriotic spirit.

Since the first session in October 2006, more than 400 students have joined the program.

Class members have visited many places associated with Zhang, including Changzhou, his hometown in the eastern province of Jiangsu and Guangzhou, where he died.

They have also investigated the development of the areas and held talks with a number of experts and the descendants of other revolutionary leaders at several patriotic education centers around the country, and taken part in a series of volunteer, startup and poverty alleviation projects.

Poverty relief efforts

Many of the students have raised donations for poverty-stricken areas.

Sun Qing, a member of the 13th session of the Tailei Class, collected 4,500 yuan ($687) for Banjielou Primary School Erjin county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Northwest China. She also organized a "Jin-Jin" Online Class (as both places have "jin" in their names) to connect Tianjin and Erjin, and arranged for students from Tianjin University to deliver lectures to students in remote Xinjiang.

"We really hope to pass on the spirit of Zhang Tailei, benefiting more students at the grassroots level and help them lead brilliant future lives," she said.

In addition, Tailei Class students have launched a number of offline and offline training courses in Xinjiang and Gansu province.

Many have won national or provincial awards, thanks to their efforts to innovate educational content. Through the university, they have provided a range of high-tech teaching resources for the needy, which have boosted the isolated students' enthusiasm for study and inspired efforts to change their lives.

While class members have inspired Chinese students and faculties, expat teachers at the university have also joined education aid programs in Gansu province.

Italian Lorenzo Pecoraro, a professor at the university's Pharmaceutical Science and Technology School, is one of them, and his moving stories made headline news during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Pecoraro wrote to the university, saying he hoped to teach poverty-stricken students in Tanchang, Gansu, where the school has a "Dream Class" program in which a number of Chinese teachers and students are making efforts to change local people's lives. His hopes became reality in June during the epidemic.

"I would like to use my experience to teach children from China's poor rural areas and I hope to offer more such opportunities to less well-off students," he said.