Peking University held a foundation laying ceremony Tuesday morning for an academic building named after German philosopher Karl Marx, in celebration of the 197th anniversary of his birth.
Sun Daiyao, the associate dean of Peking University's School of Marxism, said this will be the world's first building named after Marx, news portal caixin.com reported Tuesday.
Sun said the construction of the eight-story building, located near the south gate of the university, will be finished by the end of next year.
The building is meant to strengthen the university's political offerings and promote the development of Marxism in China and worldwide, according to the School of Marxism.
Baoshang Bank, the primary donor for the building, provided 100 million yuan ($16.1 million) in funds in December 2014.
The construction of the building is part of the university's "Six Marx Projects" that kicked off this year. Another highlight of the project is the establishment of a "Marxism Collection" compilation center, in addition to the university's Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoist collections.
Gu Hailiang, the director of the compilation center, said that the center will first publish a Chinese version featuring documents beginning from the late 19th century when Marxism started entering China, and then an international version focused on the literature of Marxism's development. The collections are expected to be finished in 20 years.
Qi Xingfa, an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at East China Normal University, told the Global Times that it's necessary for scholars to compile a grand collection on Marxism classics as the nation's guiding ideology faces challenges in today's modern world.
The "Six Marx Projects" also include holding a world Marxism conference and building a website on Marxism studies.
