"Can I call you 'Uncle Xi'?" asked Liu Yi, a youth teacher from Southwest China's Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. He was asking the question to Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Yes!"  President Xi replied in English. The scene took place in Beijing Normal University (BNU).

Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited Beijing Normal University on the 30th Teachers' Day. He extended regards and festive greetings to all of the educators during the visit.

Teachers and students gathered by the roadside, welcoming the President. Xi Jinping warmly shook hands with them. Shouts came quickly, drowning each other out: "You work too hard! We love you so much!". A sign held by six students caught the attention. It carried the message: "Uncle Xi, you work so hard!"

Pan Yuhang, the senior student who made the sign, worried that the name of 'Uncle Xi' was not appropriate when he first made the choice between 'uncle' and 'president'. Liu Yi, a teacher in BNU, knew that President Xi came from Northwest China’s Shanxi Province. The dialect there regards 'uncle' as an honorific for male elders. They thought President Xi would be happy with the greeting.

"When he saw the sign, he gave a smile," said Pan Yuhang. Chen yan, a teacher in BNU, was happy to have realized her dream of entering the university and studying in Beijing. Even better, she realized the dream of having a photo taken with President Xi.

A student from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region sent a hometown cap dotted with blue flowers to President Xi. She was delighted with the opportunity to meet Xi and she was proud of Xi's praise for her standard mandarin.                                                                                                         

The article is edited and translated from《北师大学生披露制作“习大大”标语故事》, source: People's Daily Online, author: Zhang Li