http://travel.eastday.com/UserFiles/Image/160410652.jpgSituated on several former royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, surrounded by a few historical sites in northwest Beijing, is the campus of Tsinghua University. The garden-like landscape（风景）, with the Wanquan River meandering through（蜿蜒流过）, has inspired and motivated （激励） generations of students.

Tsinghua University was established （建立）in 1911 originally （最初）as "Tsinghua Xuetang," a preparatory school for students who would be sent by the government to study in universities in the United States. The school was renamed "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was instituted in 1925 and undergraduate students were then enrolled. The name "National Tsinghua University" was adopted in 1928, and in 1929 the Research Institute was set up.
 
 http://tour.bjhotel.cn/download/2006/3/13/104905.jpgAlthough Western culture was pervasive in the early history of the university, Chinese culture were also cherished and widely studied. The faculty greatly valued the interaction between the Chinese and Western cultures, the sciences and humanities, the ancient and modern. Tsinghua scholars Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, Chen Yinque and Zhao Yuanren, renowned as the "Four Tutors" in the Institute of Chinese Classics, advocated this belief and had a profound impact on Tsinghua's later development.

 The Resistance（抵抗） War against the Japanese Invasion （侵略）in 1937 shattered （破坏） the campus' serenity （宁静） and forced Tsinghua to move to Kunming and join with Peking University and Nankai University to form the "Southwest Associated University." （西南联大）Despite the tumult（混乱）, hardships and material scarcity（匮乏） brought on by the war, the teachers and students persisted （坚持） with their work and studies, achieving outstanding academic performance （突出的学术成绩） even under such difficult conditions. After the war, in 1946, the university was moved back to its original location in Beijing.

The Tsinghua faculty and students have left a lasting imprint （烙印）on the history of modern China. They actively resisted the Japanese invasion, participated （参加）in the influential（有影响的） "December 9th Movement of Patriotism（爱国主义） and Democracy（民主）" and the movement of the "Struggle against Starvation, Civil War and Persecution （迫害）," and devoted themselves to the pursuit（追求） and spread of the truth that would give new birth to the nation in the midst of her struggle for independence.

http://news.eastday.com/eastday/kaoshirexian/node109336/images/00562521.jpgAfter the founding of the People's Republic of China, the university was molded（改造） into a polytechnic institution （工学院） focusing on engineering in the nationwide restructuring（重新调整） of universities and colleges undertaken in 1952. In November 1952, Jiang Nanxiang became the president of the university. He sought to best way to promote Chinese higher education and made significant contributions in redirecting Tsinghua to become the national center for training engineers and scientists with both professional proficiency（精通） and personal integrity（健全的人格）

.

Tsinghua has flourished （繁荣）since 1978, with the re-establishment of the departments in sciences, economics and management, and the humanities（人文科学）. The Tsinghua graduate school has been recognized nationally, ranking first in the National Evaluation （评估）of Graduate Schools. The School of Continuing Education makes the best use of modern information technologies, as well as the advanced educational resources at Tsinghua. Currently, the university consists of 44 departments distributed （分布） in 11 schools（学院）, including the schools of sciences, architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, information science and technology, humanities and social sciences, economics and management, law, arts and design, public policy and management, and applied technology. A medical school is currently being established. Tsinghua is developing into a comprehensive university （综合大学）at a breathtaking（惊人的） pace.

With a splendid legacy （传统）accumulated （积淀）over the past 90 years, Tsinghua has retained （保留、保持）its character and charm while promoting rigorous scholarship（严谨的治学态度） research, ensuring（保证） academic and educational prestige（声誉） in China and abroad. The university currently has over 7,100 faculty and staff, with over 900 full professors（正教授） and 1,200 associate professors（副教授）, including 24 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 24 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

http://www.7m8.cn/UploadFiles/2006-11/111216135.jpgThe educational philosophy（教育理念） of Tsinghua is to "train students with integrity." Among the over 100,000 students who have graduated from Tsinghua since its founding are many outstanding scholars, eminent （杰出的）entrepreneurs（企业家） and great statesmen remembered and respected by their fellow Chinese citizens. Hence（因此）, to study at Tsinghua is the dream of many Chinese youth. Presently, Tsinghua has over 20,000 students, including 12,000 undergraduates（本科生）, 6,200 master's degrees candidates（硕士研究生） and 2,800 doctoral candidates（博士研究生）.

With strong support from the nation and in the face of unprecedented （崭新的）opportunities, Tsinghua University is poised （准备） to become a world-class university in the 21st century. With the inspiring motto "Self-discipline and Social Commitment," Tsinghua is dedicated （贡献）to the well being （福祉） of Chinese society.
 

北京大学 Peking University

http://www.xunuo.com.cn/oledit/UploadFile/20072/2007210142023624.jpgPeking University is a comprehensive（综合性） and National key university. The campus, known as "Yan Yuan"-- the gardens of Yan, is situated at the  northeast of the Haidian District at the western suburbs of Beijing. It stands near the Yuan Ming Gardens and the Summer Palace.

The University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, with 93 specialties（专业） for undergraduates,2 specialties for the second Bachelor's degree（学士学位）, 199 specialties for Master candidates and 173 specialties for Doctoral candidates. While still laying stress（重点在于） on basic sciences, the university has paid special attention to the development of applied  sciences（应用科学）.

At present,  Peking  university has 216 research institutes and research centres, and there are 2 national engineering research centres, 81 key national disciplines（学科）, 12 national key laboratories.

 http://www.pszc.com/xywh/UploadFiles/200511/20051121102259822.gifThe university has made an effective combination of the research on important scientific  issues with the training of personnel with high level specialized knowledge and professional skill as demanded by the country's socialist modernization. It strives （努力、奋斗）not only for the  simultaneous（同步） improvements in teaching and research work, but also for the promotion（促进） of  interaction and mutual（相互的） promotion among various subjects.

Thus Peking University has become a center for teaching and research and a university of the new type,  consisting  of diverse branches of learning such as pure and applied sciences, social sciences and the  humanities, and sciences of management and education. Its aim is to rank among the world's  best universities at the beginning of the next century.

浙江大学 Zhejiang University

http://travelguide.tripc.com/scenic_images/12/200511211131216.jpgIn September 1998, a new Zhejiang University was established on the basis of the amalgamation（合并） of the four former individual universities, namely Zhejiang University, Hangzhou University, Zhejiang Agricultural University and Zhejiang Medical University, which were all located in the garden city of Hangzhou. Approved （同意）by the State Council（国务院）, the founding of the new Zhejiang University has been a significant move in the reform and development of China's higher education. The four universities have grown out of the same ancestry, the Qiushi (with the literal meaning of "seeking truth" in Chinese) Academy, which was founded a century ago as one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in China. As a result, they have all inherited from it the spirit of "Qiushi" and at the same time, built up their own distinctive features（特点） in teaching and research.

Under the direct administration（管理） of China's Ministry of Education, the new Zhejiang University is a key comprehensive university whose fields of study cover eleven branches of learning, namely philosophy, literature, history, education, science, economics, law, management, engineering, agriculture and medicine. The university, now has 115 specialties（专业） for undergraduate studies, and it is entitled （有资格）to confer（授予） masters degrees in 312 programs and doctoral degrees in 237 programs. Under its administration there are 13 Nation Key Laboratories, 2 National Engineering Research Centers and 3 National Engineering Technology Centers. Besides, it has set up 24 nation key specialties and 39 post-doctor stations.

http://www.cncuu.net/File/Online/zj/zjdx/08.jpgEndowed（赋予） with a pleasant climate, picturesque（风景如画） surroundings and a favorable academic atmosphere（良好的学术氛围）, Zhejiang University is an ideal place for teaching, research, and learning. With six campuses, namely Yuquan, Xixi, Huajiachi, Hubin, Zhijiang, and Zijingang, the university now occupies a total area of 533 hectares and a floor space of over 2,000,000 square meters. At present, the total number of full time students has reached over 40,000, including more than 23,600 undergraduates, over 9,300 postgraduates working for master's degrees and over 6,200 Ph.D. candidates. There are also nearly 37,000 students taking courses in degree and non-degree programs in adult education. Among its 8,400 staff members and workers, there are 14 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 9 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, over 1,200 full professors and over 2,400 associate professors. With a total space of 83,000 square meters, the university library has a collection of more than 6,390,000 volumes. In addition, the university has 6 affiliated hospitals（附属医院）, providing medical services of various kinds for people from all over Zhejiang province.

At the turn of the century, the university is taking full advantage of the opportunities brought by the amalgamation, and will continue to give priority to education and research. It seeks to offer service to the nation's economic development, and to make every effort to build itself into an institution on a par with the first-class university in the world.

南京大学 Nanjing University

Nanjing University is one of China's key comprehensive universities and it functions directly under the Ministry of Education. It is located in the ancient capital of six dynasties -- Nanjing. The University dates back to 1902 when Sanjiang Normal School was founded, and then evolved as Liangjiang Normal School, Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, the Fourth Zhongshan University, and National Central University. On August 8, 1949, the National Central University was renamed National Nanjing University. In October 1950, as required by the Ministry of Education, the name was changed to Nanjing University. In 1952, when a nationwide readjustment of universities took place, some schools, such as the School of Engineering and the School of Agriculture, were separated from the University; meanwhile, the University merged with the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Sciences of the University of Nanking, which was founded in 1888. The new university remained Nanjing University and the campus of Nanjing University moved from Sipailou to Gulou.

  Today, Nanjing University consists of two campuses, one in Gulou and the other in Pukou with a total area of more than 3,600 mu (nearly 600 acres). It is one of the top universities in China, with beautiful campuses and modern teaching and research facilities. Its current President is Professor Chen Jun, a geochemist. The University celebrates its anniversary on May 20 of each year.

  Nanjing University's development has always been closely bound with the destiny of the Chinese nation and linked to her ever changing society. Nanjing Higher Normal University, the predecessor of Nanjing University, played a leading role in the area of Nanjing when the Youth Democratic Movement was held on May 4, 1919. In the early 1920s, it was in this university that a group of Chinese communist forerunners introduced the theory of Marxism to the public. The Second National Conference of Chinese Communist Youth League was also held at the University. During the Anti-Japanese War, organizations like the "Natural Sciences Forum" and the "Democracy and Science Forum", headed by Pan Shu, Liang Xi and Jin Baoshan, renowned professors of National Central University, eventually became the democratic party "Jiu San Society." During the Liberation War, teachers and students of National Central University stood at the forefront through out the democratic patriotic movement. On May 20, 1947, students of National Central University initiated an "Anti-Hunger, Anti-Civil War and Anti-Persecution Movement", later known as the "May 20th Patriotic Students Movement." After the National Central University was renamed Nanjing University, the truth-seeking convention was carried forward. In May 1978, one scholar at the Philosophy Department published, in the Guangming Daily, a well-known essay entitled "Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth" and thus evoked "a heated discussion on the criterion of truth" that attracted nationwide attention.