When newly admitted college students receive letters of admission from Harbin Institute of Technology in Heilongjiang province this summer, they may get more than they expect — as in a special red bookmark coated in a special material used by Tianwen 1, China's first mission to Mars program.

"The coating, independently developed by the institute, integrates properties of anti-irradiation, hypoallergenic and resistance to drastic temperature swings," said Wu Xiaohong, a professor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. "It can avoid issues such as color degradation and coating shedding in the extreme environment of deep space."

The coating has been applied to the Chinese flag displayed on Tianwen 1's Martian orbiter and the red patterns of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic mascots Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon carried on its landing platform.

"The institute will send this special gift to all students who choose HIT this year, hoping that no matter what difficulties they encounter on the road to study in the future, they will stick to the ideals and beliefs in their minds, and carry out the school motto and spirit of HIT," said Xing Zhaoxia, director of the institute's office of undergraduate admissions.

Xing said that around 7,900 new college students will be admitted to three campuses of the institute, namely Harbin, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Weihai in Shandong province.

In addition, the institute has created a series of innovative character images displayed on a variety of badges.

The badges are themed around daily learning and scientific research activities on campus. Students can get up to three of them in their admissions package.

A research and development team from the Faculty of Computing has built an online platform for students to receive digital souvenirs after authenticating their identity.

They will also get their own digital IDs over the coming days, the institute said.

In recent years, many universities have begun to make creative admission letters with unique features, hoping to impress prospective students as well as express their welcome and best wishes.

In 2022, Tsinghua University's admission letters included a 3D school gate representing the university's iconic memorial archway.

In Nankai University's admission letters last year, there were two lotus seeds from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, the ancestral home of premier Zhou Enlai, a distinguished alumnus of Nankai.

zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn