Book Launch: 《云南园的前世今生：重述南大故事》Yunnan Garden, then and now : Revisiting the story of Nantah

On Sunday, 1 March 2026, NTU Chinese hosted a book launch in collaboration with TrendLit Publishing for the new volume, 《云南园的前世今生：重述南大故事》Yunnan Garden, then and now : Revisiting the story of Nantah at The Pod, National Library Board. 

Edited by Associate Professor Hee Wai Siam, the book features both colour and black-and-white photographs, and more than thirty non-fiction contributions in Chinese by Nantah faculty members, graduate students, undergraduates, and alumni.

The speakers at the event were Dr. Wong Yoon Wah, Senior Chair Professor of Chinese Studies, Dean of the The Faculty of Chinese Studies, Southern University College, Malaysia and Dr. Pei Sai Fan, Adjunct Professor, Nanyang Centre for Public Administration. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore / Adjunct Professor, Business School, The National University of Singapore.

The two speakers drew on their respective contributions in the volume to revisit and reconstruct the landscapes of Yunnan Garden, as well as the people, events, and material culture surrounding it. Their dialogue explored the contemporary relevance and broader meanings of these Nantah stories in our time.

The publication cost of this volume was been generously sponsored by the You Jin Education Endowment Fund at NTU. The donors, Mr James Lim Jit Teng and Madam You Jin, attended the event as Guests of Honour.

NTU Chinese Head of Department, Dr Ong Soon Keong, delivered the welcome address.

Associate Professor Hee Wai Siam delivering remarks as Editor of the Volume and Moderator of the Seminar

Dr. Ong Soon Keong, Head of Department, NTU Chinese, delivered the welcome address

Mr Andy Wee Tart Jin, great-grandson of Tan Lark Sye (Founder of Nanyang University), shared his reflections at the event

Mr James Lim Jit Teng and Madam You Jin (donors and sponsors of the book) with Mr Ang Lai Sheng, Editor-in-Chief, TrendLit Publishing Private Limited. Both Madam You Jin and Mr Ang Lai Sheng are alumni of our University

Mr James Lim Jit Teng and Madam You Jin (donors) with three awardees of the You Jin Education Endowment Fund, NTU

Ms Cao Zimei, book contributor and event MC, currently an undergraduate at NTU, Chinese

Ms Chan Yu Xi (centre), one of the book’s contributors, currently an undergraduate in Public Policy and Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University

Professor Pei Sai Fan, Speaker of the seminar, delivering his talk

Professor Wong Yoon Wah, Speaker of the seminar, delivering his talk

The venue was filled to capacity. Dr. Ong Soon Keong, Head of Department, delivered the welcome address