MACAO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Saturday encouraged Macao youth to absorb quintessence from traditional Chinese culture and constantly refine personal cultivation and knowledge to better contribute to society.

Despite tight schedule in a two-day visit to Macao, Xi spent a lighthearted moment on Saturday afternoon with a group of students at the University of Macao's Hengqin campus, exchanging thoughts about reading.

"When I was young, I liked very much to read traditional Chinese classic works, and kept learning knowledge bit by bit," he told the students from Macao, the mainland and Taiwan, who were attending a discussion on traditional culture and youth.

"Chinese culture has a long history and extensive knowledge, just like a treasure house which can benefit you for lifetime as long as you explore it," he said.

"Even now I still like to pick up a book to read if I had a free moment. It's always beneficial," he said.

He encouraged the young people to absorb quintessence from the traditional culture while discarding the dross to nurture spiritual pursuit and guidelines of action.

The students told the president their ideas about how to carry forward traditional virtue of the Chinese nation and how to be a good person.

Young people should enhance a sense of national pride, moral integrity and confidence in Chinese culture through learning the history of the Chinese nation, Xi said.

He asked the students to carry forward the spirit of patriotism and loving Macao, and build up the initiative of promoting the practice of "one country, two systems."

Accompanied by the Macao Special Administrative Region's chief executive Chui Sai On, Xi inspected the university's brand new campus on Hengqin Island, which was constructed in accordance with a decision announced by the Central Government five years ago.

The campus with a capacity to accommodate more than 10,000 students is 20 times bigger than the old one, equipped with state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities.

After learning that the university had achieved major progresses in the research of nano chips and traditional Chinese medicine, Xi said he hopes the university will make new breakthroughs for the country's innovation-based development.

During the interaction with the students, Xi also urged the students to enhance their sense of responsibility for the country and the SAR, while making enough preparations in knowledge, vision and capability for future professional career.

Before ending the visit, Xi presented the university a copy of the Yongle Canon, the world's earliest and biggest encyclopedia compiled in the early 1400s, and a collection of rare Chinese local records kept at Peking University Library.

Also on Saturday, Xi's wife Peng Liyuan, accompanied by Chief Executive Chui's wife Fok Wai Fun, visited the Family House of Zheng Guanying, a late-Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) philosopher and writer who completed his acclaimed masterpiece Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity in the complex.

The buildings feature a blend of characteristics of Chinese and Western architecture, which represents the unique cultural attraction in Macao.

Peng also appreciated the performance of the Cantonese Naamyam, a narrative folk singing popular in the Pearl River Delta region, which was inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.