In commemoration of the 115th birth anniversary of Professor Li Ruqi, a grand ceremony was held on 8 May in Peking University, sponsored by College of Life Science of Peking University and the Genetics Society of China. Dozens of well-known scholars were present at the opening ceremony, including Rao Yi (the professor of Peking University), Xu Zhihong (the former president of Peking University), Zhu Zuoyan (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the professor of Peking University), Xue Yongbiao (the director of Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, the vice president and secretary general of the Genetics Society of China) and Qiao Shouyi (the professor of Fudan University).

This year is the 115th Anniversary of the birth of Professor Li Ruqi. Professor Li was one of the founders of modern genetics in China and was an outstanding Chinese scientist and educationist. He trained a large number of genetic research talents including Tan Jiazhen. “Li Ruqi Award for excellent Papers on Animal Genetics” was set up to encourage the young researchers in the field of Animal Genetics.