Babies born in the Year of the Dragon are now freshmen at universities and colleges.

QINGDAO-Stuffed toys, guitars, zithers, swimming goggles, hometown delicacies and books-with these items packed in their luggage, China's "millennial babies" yearn for a colorful college life.

The number of "millennial babies" born in 2000 was 17.71 million, the highest annual birth rate from 2000 to 2015, before China began to allow couples to have two children in 2016.

The year 2000 was not only the turn of the millennium but also the Year of the Dragon for Chinese people. It is believed that babies born in that year have good fortune.

Eighteen years later, "millennial babies" have become freshmen at universities and colleges.

At the Ocean University of China, in East China's Shandong province, about 72 percent of the freshmen were born after 2000.

Zhang Yueru, one of the "millennial babies" from northwest China's Qinghai province, traveled about 2,500 kilometers to attend university.

"It is my first time being so far from home, and there are a few things that make me uncomfortable.

"The library is so big," she says.

"It is easy to get lost as there are so many roads on the campus."

She will major in photoelectric information science and engineering, and also plans to join clubs on Chinese traditional culture.

"I like ancient poetry, especially song lyrics," she says.

"Many post-00s like traditional Chinese culture, such as wearing traditional clothes, reciting ancient poems, singing traditional tunes and taking photos dressed in an ancient Chinese style.

"I am sure that I can find quite a few friends who share my interests."

Liang Yixin, who plans to pursue a biotechnology major at Qingdao Agricultural University, is looking for a dancing club.