When Wang Shucheng spent his leisure time practising a telegraphic code and watching the dance troupe led by classmate Hu Jintao perform revolutionary routines at Tsinghua University some four decades ago, little could he imagine he and his classmates would take up such important roles in the government one day.
'Who would think of becoming a minister or state president at that time? But I think several of us stood out from the youngsters. We had a pretty good performance and a pretty good relationship with the masses,' Mr Wang, who is expected to retire as water minister, said of his nine years at university.
Mr Wang and his classmates were the elite of their generation. There were only about 2,000 postgraduate students in the county at that time and about 30 of his classmates from the hydraulic engineering department are now senior officials in government departments.
'Many ministers were also university students before the Cultural Revolution and we have all reached retirement age.'
Mr Wang has spent his entire career dealing with water. He first worked as an engineer at hydroelectric power stations. 'When we were sent to construction sites, we carried our blankets and slept at the sites just like other workers,' he recalls.
Before being appointed water resources minister, he spent 20 years as an official in charge of the hydropower industry.