Zhang Weile

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly ten years since graduation, and yet my closest friends are still the ones I met back in SHSID. From pulling all-nighters on projects, to racing for seats in the cafeteria, to chatting under the trees—those memories still come up in our conversations today. People often say high school friendships are the most genuine, and I couldn’t agree more. Even as life has gotten busy, we’ve stayed in touch, and those bonds have only grown stronger.

Thank you SHSID for bringing us together and giving me one of the most precious gifts in life—these friendships. Happy 160th anniversary! May you continue to be the place where generations of students meet, grow, and create lifelong memories.

Zhang Hanyang

Happy 160th Anniversary to Shanghai High School!

Since starting here in 9th grade, I’ve felt like I stepped into a whole new chapter of my life. I still remember my first day—my very first thought was, “Wow, this school is huge!” At that time, the West Building was still under construction, too.

As time went by, I came to truly appreciate the campus scenery. Walking back from the Art Center through the Metasequoia Grove, I always feel the air is especially fresh, filled with the scent of plants and flowers. And you can find all kinds of beautiful plants across campus—lavender, golden rapeseed flowers, green bamboo… Being surrounded by all this beauty lifts my spirits every single day.

The school’s 160th anniversary falls in my final year here—what a meaningful coincidence! I’m also truly honored to have designed the covers for the PA Special Issue and the Zhaoyang Special Issue, which made me feel even more connected and involved in our school community.

In the end, I just want to wish our school a brighter future. Inside this dream-like campus, I’ll keep striving in both my studies and my life!

Zhu Luoyi

Perhaps it's because graduation arrived on a day that felt so much like any other, my longing for my alma mater came with a time lag. It wasn't until one afternoon, as I sat on a university lawn, with the sound of countless footsteps crossing and overlapping around me, that I lifted my gaze to the unfamiliar faces coming and going. Life now moves at a much more leisurely pace than in high school—exactly what we often used to envy—yet lately, I've felt something is missing. A vague, indescribable sense of emptiness suddenly made me feel disconnected, and memories of high school came rushing back.

"This is everyone's last semester of high school. Wishing you all the best." The eight years at SHSID passed in what felt like both an instant and an eternity. The notification in the class group chat took us all by surprise; I was completely unprepared for what "graduation" truly meant. I still remember my first day in fourth grade, riding the school bus, pressing my face against the window, watching the route from home to school, and thinking, "I have eight more years of this same road—I'll be so tired of it." But by last June, riding the bus to the graduation ceremony, every inch of the journey felt familiar yet strangely distant. I was desperate to take in as much as I could with my eyes, to imprint it all in my heart.

Yet, in another way, those years felt long—whenever I think of all the beautiful people and moments I encountered at my mother school. The greenery framed by the classroom windows in Xianmian Hall, the backstage music in the auditorium that resonated with our heartbeats, the path through the fir trees leading to Sodexo, the vibrant flower beds in the square before Longmen Building… And, of course, the laughter that lasted until the class bell rang, the conversations we insisted on finishing from opposite ends of the hallway—all of these nurtured a deep attachment to this campus. These eight years at SHSID will remain a radiant memory, one that will still make me smile uncontrollably years from now.

Tang Jiahe

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”

—Dr. Seuss

It’s hard to look back on my high school life and pinpoint a specific moment I miss. Twelve years spent going to the same place five times a week creates an illusion of permanency, and now I find myself cherishing the ordinary days that felt so unremarkable then.

Some of my favorite memories are the simplest, like lunch with friends. The same table in the same classroom, every day of the week. We talked about classes and clubs and future plans, but also about nothing at all. Only the bell could move us. Now we’re scattered across cities and time zones, but we still often talk about people from high school and the things that happened between us.

I also remember exam mornings as we sat in the hallways, nervously reviewing with friends while joking about failing. Then there were wind ensemble rehearsals, the only reason I’ve seen the campus at 6 in the morning and at 10 at night. The dawn and dusk blended with the cacophony of woodwinds and brass and our director’s promise of “one more run!”. Although we complained at the time, each successful performance made everything worth it. There are countless other small things I think back on: the Lawson cashiers who learned our names, the scent of a thunderstorm on a hot summer day, the rush of footsteps and buses as the end-of-day bell sounds. These are ordinary things. They are also the things I miss the most.

The sense that I would be an SHS student forever collapsed only when college finally began. Suddenly, I was one of five hundred classmates in a single lecture, one of countless others in a sea of new faces and unfamiliar routines (It is when I barely make it to my 9 AM lectures that I wonder whether the twelve years of 8 AM classes was just a dream). But I never felt unprepared. SHS taught not only content but habits. It taught me to show up early to class, to share notes, to practice the hard section again instead of hoping it won’t come up. It taught me to be resourceful and work for opportunities. It taught me that you can be ambitious without being unkind, and that I should be confident in what I can achieve.

On Shanghai High School’s 160th anniversary, I am filled with immense gratitude. My years at this school shaped me in ways I am still discovering. Just as I’ve grown, SHS has evolved over its 160 years. I have no doubt it will continue to adapt and flourish, shaping future generations with the same care and vision that guided me.

Happy 160th, Shanghai High School. Thank you for the years that prepared me and the place I can always return to.

Tong Ermeng

Time flies, yet my memories of Shanghai High School remain vivid and cherished.On the occasion of SHS’s 160th anniversary, I send my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes. My years at SHS were filled with hardwork, challenges, inspiration, and invaluable friendships. It was here that I learned not only knowledge, but also how to think independently, embrace diversity, and carry a global vision.I’m forever grateful for the values SHS instilled in me—dedication and pragmatism—and for the teachers who shaped our futures with wisdom and care.May SHS continue to thrive in excellence and nurture generations of capable, compassionate leaders. Happy 160th Anniversary to our beloved alma mater.