How could a radio set that could only receive but not transmit signals become a crucial starting point for China’s communications industry? At the Museum of Xidian University (XDU), the most vivid answer to this question awaits. The “Half Radio” illustrates how a university, starting from a simple radio device, developed a distinctive tradition in communications over its long history. It later contributed to national key projects such as the “FAST” (the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope) and “Meteor Burst Communications,” driving the advancement of China’s communications sector.

XDU Museum is a comprehensive museum dedicated to Electronic Technology and Computer Science. It has 7 indoor exhibition halls and 1 outdoor exhibition area, demonstrating samples and achievements in the fields of Communications, Radar and, Computing etc.

“Half Radio”: The Origin of XDU’s Communication Discipline

At the end of 1930, the CPC pioneers captured a radio set during a battle in Jiangxi. Since it could only receive but not transmit messages, it then came to be known as the “Half Radio.” At that time, the CPC pioneers urgently needed to establish their own wireless communications network and cultivate their own radio communication talents. Thus, building on this “Half Radio,” they founded a radio training class in 1931, which later evolved into what is now Xidian University.

“FAST”: XDU’s Contribution to Scientific Research

The museum shows the visitors a model of the “FAST” (the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope). As for XDU’s role in the project, the core innovation came from the team of Academician Baoyan Duan at the university. Duan proposed the opto-mechatronics design scheme, which significantly enhanced the overall system’s safety and receiving performance through structural design.

Meteor Burst Communications System: Key to Emergency Response

Since 1965, XDUers have devoted themselves in the research and development of the Communication systems generations after generations. According to XDU student volunteer Junyue Luo, “Prof Zan Li’s team formulated a new generation of system, which was developed entirely independently by China. It possesses capabilities occupying important roles in China’s emergency communications.”

XDU Museum is dedicated to serving students, staff, alumni, and visitors from the public. “Since its upgrading in 2021, the museum has welcomed over 160,000 visitors,” said Chuankun Xiao, administrator of the museum. At the start of every academic year, thousands of first-year students join faculty-led tours in the museum to learn the university’s history and strengths, inspiring a commitment to serve the nation.

Source: XDU News

Edited by Yiming Zhang 张一铭 Fan Yang 杨帆

Supervised by Yunze Cai 蔡芸泽 Xiao Yang 杨逍