BEIJING - China's Peking University, one of the country's top institutions of higher education, celebrated the centennial anniversary of the establishment of its physics department on Saturday.

As the first university physics department founded in modern China, the department has witnessed the booming development of physics in the country as more than 110 academics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have studied or worked there.

Among the 23 major Chinese scientists who contributed to the successful development of the country's first atomic and hydrogen bombs and launch of man-made satellites, 12 graduated from Peking University's School of Physics.

Yang Zhenning, Nobel Prize winner in physics and an alumni of Peking University, said at a ceremony to mark the anniversary that six years of study at the physics department laid the foundation for his scientific achievements later.

Yang extended his gratitude to his university professors and spoke highly of the contribution alumni have made to the country's scientific and technological developments.

"I believe Peking University's School of Physics will make even more contribution to global development in the decade to come," he added.

In 1913, the "Wuli Men," or physics division, was established at Peking University, and this was later renamed the Department of Physics in 1919. In 2001, the School of Physics was established, which includes not only the traditional fields of study in physics, but also related physical sciences such as heavy ion physics and astronomy.