Hainan Normal University

Hainan University, formed in 2007 through the merger of two institutions, is a provincial-level comprehensive university jointly supported by the Hainan Provincial Government and the Ministry of Education. Its three campuses—Haidian (the main campus on Haidian Island in Haikou), Chengxi, and Danzhou—span around 830 acres across tropical southern China. The university hosts over 37,000 students and employs more than 2,400 faculty members, including nearly 1,600 full-time teaching staff. It organises studies across nine disciplinary categories, with distinctive strengths in tropical agriculture, marine science, and regional development linked to Hainan’s geography and administrative status. Four academic schools oversee 21 colleges, and the university maintains national and provincial research platforms, including a co-managed key laboratory and doctoral programmes across multiple disciplines.

It was formed in June 2016 by merging Shanghai Lixin University of Commerce and Shanghai Finance University. Its roots go back to Lixin education founded by Dr. Pan Xulun in 1928. In 2022, the School of Business and Administration received five-year full AACSB accreditation. SLU has three campuses in Pudong, Songjiang, and Xuhui, covering more than 1,200 mu (about 800,000 square meters). It has more than 19,000 full-time students, including over 370 graduate students; 3 master’s degree programs and 40 undergraduate majors; more than 1,630 faculty and staff, including over 1,240 full-time teachers

Established in 1898 in Beijing, Peking University is China’s first national university. Its campus hosts five faculties—Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, Medicine, and Information and Engineering—alongside 47 colleges and departments. The university offers over one hundred undergraduate programmes and more than five hundred graduate and doctoral programmes. With around 34,000 students including nearly 2,400 international learners from 80 countries, its academic community is both large and diverse. The teaching staff includes over 5,800 full-time faculty members, among them more than 1,700 professors and over 60 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering. Research infrastructure includes 11 national key laboratories, 46 state key laboratories, and a library holding 7.7 million volumes—the largest university library in Asia.

Zhejiang University, founded in 1897 in Hangzhou, is one of China’s leading comprehensive research universities. Teaching and research span science, engineering, medicine, humanities, and social sciences. International students study across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Founded in 1896, Shanghai Jiao Tong University is one of China’s oldest universities and is based in Shanghai’s Minhang and Xuhui districts. It comprises 28 schools and departments, offering 64 undergraduate programmes across nine disciplinary areas including engineering, medicine, science, and management. The university hosts over 44,000 students, including nearly 6,000 international learners, and employs more than 2,800 full-time academic staff. Its research infrastructure includes eight state key laboratories and multiple national engineering research centres. SJTU awards degrees at bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels across a broad range of disciplines, with particular depth in engineering and the natural sciences. The university operates several affiliated hospitals and maintains close ties with Shanghai’s municipal government and national education authorities.

Fudan University, established in 1905, is situated in Shanghai’s Yangpu District and forms part of China’s national key universities. Its campus hosts over 30,000 students and includes five national key laboratories alongside a library holding more than five million volumes. The university comprises multiple schools and colleges, offering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes across disciplines. Teaching and research span the humanities, sciences, medicine, and social sciences. Its location in central Shanghai supports close ties with academic, cultural, and professional communities in the city. The university operates primarily in Mandarin, though some postgraduate programmes are delivered in English.