SHENYANG, Liaoning, Sept. 2 -- State Councilor Liu Yandong has urged that the spirits of the Olympics and fighting disasters such as the Sichuan earthquake be added to the orientation program for students in the new semester.

    Liu made the remarks on Monday, the first day of the semester, during an inspection of a primary and secondary school here in the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

    Amid the nationwide joy over the Olympics, Liu, also a politburo member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged that fitness programs for the general public be widely initiated and schools around the country combine education and sports.

    Liu also urged that school building construction, especially in rural areas and quake-hit areas, be guaranteed and strengthened, and that state policies for aiding students be fully implemented.

    All 3.4 million students in the Sichuan quake zone returned to school on Monday, enjoying free education, earlier reports said.

    The new semester also marked the start of nine-year free compulsory education for China's 28.21 million urban primary and middle school students. About 150 million rural students already benefit from the policy.

    Liu said free compulsory education for urban students was an important policy to push forward the balanced development of compulsory education.

    "Every school shall be run well and every student shall be taught well in China," she said.