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Tong Kwo On compiled a "Tsing Hua College Constitution," pointing out that the college -- a preparatory school for students to study in the US -- should adopt the American educational system.

He made aggressive reforms in the educational system, through which Chinese students were eligible for junior grades at American universities upon graduation from Tsing Hua College. The reform endowed Tsing Hua with partial role of an American university. British philosopher Bertrand Russell complimented Tong in a visit to Tsinghua: "You've moved here a university from the US."

Tong Kwo On made sure the refunds from the Boxer Indemnity were used by the college and expanded the campus from 30 hectares to 80 hectares in less than one year, solving two problems.

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Tong Kwo On worked for two years and four months on the way to enhance Tsing Hua from a school to a college. He collapsed due to heart disease that recurred three times.

He submitted his resignation to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs on Aug 21, 1913 but passed away the next day at age 55. He was the first-ever Tsinghua's president to die at his post.

Tsing Hua College renamed National Tsing Hua University on Aug 17, 1928, fifteen years after Tong's death. His photo still hangs on the wall of the university history showroom. 

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Tsinghua Science Park, a well-equipped R&D center in Tangjiawan, opened on Sept 9, 2002, abutting a brick-laid building -- Tong's birthplace -- at a distance of less than 2,000 m.

Tong Kwo On's former residence after reconstruction [Photo courtesy tangguoan.com]

The government of Tong's hometown embraced Tsinghua Science Park with open arms. It granted 21 hectares to the park for permanent use with priorities in support infrastructure and taxation and even opened bus routes to the office building.

Tsinghua Science Park serves as an incubator through which technological achievements from home and abroad are turned into productive gains.

Tang Guo'an Memorial Hall was inaugurated on March 19, 2011 in Tangjiawan. It holds a bust in the center of the gallery and a sitting bronze statue in the façade, greeting visitors from across the world to salute him.

Tang Guo'an Memorial Hall [Photo courtesy tangguoan.com]

Sixth anniversary of Tang Guo'an Memorial Hall [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]