Two college students (R) hang a national flag on the balcony of their dormitory in the Pingfeng Compound of Zhejiang University of Technology in Hangzhou, Zhejiang on Sunday, September 20, 2009. [Photo: xinhua]

Many Chinese believe that those born during the late 1980s and 1990s are less patriotic compared to older generations that experienced wars and hardships.

But a recent survey on university students' patriotism conducted by Fudan University in Shanghai indicates that more than 90 percent of college students say they love their motherland. Two-thirds of the respondents said the only difference from their parents' generation when it comes to patriotism was that young people expressed their emotions differently.

"We are more rational indeed," said a senior student surnamed Zhang. "We'd like to use our own ways to express our feelings towards our motherland. "

Another student surnamed Zhu added that they took every opportunity to show foreigners the brand new image of fast-changing and developing China.

About 950 college students randomly selected from 19 Shanghai universities completed the questionnaires. More than 73 percent of the respondents said they had a positive attitude towards the sound development of China.

"We are quite confident that China will exert deeper influence in the international community, and we are looking forward to the revitalization of the Chinese nation in the near future." said one student at Fudan University.