A high school celebrated its centenary with a grand ceremony and special lunch last Friday. Each alumna that attended the celebration reunited with old friends, talked about the old days, and ate a bowl of instant noodles in the school cafeteria.

Wuxi First Girls' High School, in East China's Jiangsu Province, celebrated its centenary on its playground on October 5. Over 2,000 alumnae including renowned politicians and famous scholars attended the celebration ceremony.

In addition to a series of impressive artistic performances that were planned and performed by current students, the school celebrated its 100th birthday with a special lunch, inviting over 2,000 alumnae to join together for a meal of instant noodles.

After the anniversary ceremony, alumnae swarmed to the school cafeteria with meal vouchers in their hands. Each of them was given a bowl of instant noodles. They ate together in the school cafeteria, reminiscing about their days as students in the century-old institution.

A staff member at the school office told reporters that it would have been very difficult for the school to hold a lavish banquet for such a large number of alumnae. In fact, this simple lunch was offered at the request of alumnae, who hold that the school's birthday could not be properly celebrated without noodles.

Instant noodles were chosen since it would have been a burden for the school to offer fresh noodles to so many guests.

"It doesn't matter what we eat. We came back to our old school to recall memories, to see our old classmates and sisters," said one alumna.

This choice of simplicity in celebrating the school's centenary reflects the long-held school motto, "Decency, diligence and simplicity." Wuxi First Girls' High School is the only girls' public high school in Jiangsu Province, holding as its guiding principle "Cultivating elegant and intelligent ladies."