From billiards and basketball to pop quizzes and treasure hunts, a host of fun activities are being organized by colleges and universities across China to welcome first-year students to campuses as the autumn semester kicks off.

Wang Yuhan, 18, never expected to be drawn into an exciting water gun fight soon after her arrival at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen in Guangdong province, in the middle of August.

The challenge organized for freshmen came with a set of tasks, such as playing a round of billiards, shooting a basket and taking pictures at a specific location, which all needed to be completed without being sprayed by an opponent's water gun. If the water hit the name tag, it turned blue and the student concerned got knocked out of the game.

"I played billiards for the first time in my life. The fight challenge was thrilling. After the game, we all dug into a spread of desserts prepared by the university," she said.

Wang, who is shy by nature, said she learned to work together with strangers during this team-building exercise, and also got familiar with the campus environment.

"I have heard the difference between high school life and studying at a university is the degree of independence one gains. ... I hope to make more friends here," she said.

Song Weijing, a first-year student at Duke Kunshan University in Su-zhou, Jiangsu province, attended a special fair on the campus. The university's different departments set up pop quiz stalls, and prizes included handbags and snacks.

"I was asked to list three of the five most famous mountains in China. I answered the question correctly and won a fancy student ID holder," she said.

Song said that professors from different departments fielded questions from students during an interactive session. "They spoke on course contents and employment prospects. The information was very useful."

Duke Kunshan University started its new semester on Aug 14. Song added that she found the university president's address to first-year students very encouraging.

A treasure hunt greeted Hu Enti, 18, at the Beijing Institute of Technology. The freshmen followed clues through the campus to redeem prizes such as air humidifiers.

"Though the weather in Beijing is sultry, and riding a bike on the campus can make you sweat, I found the university atmosphere very welcoming. It feels like I belong here," she said.

In Tianjin, several universities started welcoming freshmen in the middle of August. Tianjin University arranged shuttle buses to ferry the students and their parents to the campus from railway stations and airports. Volunteers were assigned to help the students go through the entry procedures.

A Lego building, animation avatars and creative cultural products were among the top draws as the university inducted about 5,000 freshmen on Aug 17.

Gu Xianqing, 17, who joined the School of Architecture at Tianjin University, said she was happy to receive a blue-and-white star with her name on it. "Every freshman at my school has received one. I think it is a symbol of hope and encouragement."

Gu added that she likes ancient buildings and paintings, and is looking forward to the surveying and mapping activity at the Dule Temple, a 1,000-year-old temple that has one of the country's few well-preserved wooden structures.

Dalian Maritime University in Liaoning province took the welcoming ceremony to the next level. On Aug 15, the new group of students got to ride autonomous vehicles developed by their seniors. This was the first time these vehicles were rolled out on the campus.

"It's amazing that freshmen experienced the fun of technological innovation upon their arrival at the university," a netizen commented on a China Youth Daily news report on WeChat.

He Jiazheng, who joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, in 2020, said that back then, there were no fun offline events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he even listened to the principal's speech online.

"This year's ceremony was really impressive. The university also gave away merchandise such as kettles and canvas bags. Various icebreaking games were organized. ... The atmosphere was cheerful ... very different from being welcomed online," He said.

Cui Yutong contributed to this story.