Peking University

About Peking University

Peking University (北京大学 / PKU), established in 1898 as the Imperial University of Peking (京师大学堂) during the Hundred Days' Reform, is China’s oldest and most prestigious national comprehensive research institution of higher learning. As the undisputed intellectual cradle of modern China, Peking University served as the birthplace of the New Culture Movement (1915) and the May Fourth Movement (1919), nurturing seminal thinkers, scientists, and statesmen including Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Hu Shih, and Mao Zedong (who served as an assistant librarian). Directly administered by China's Ministry of Education, PKU is a founding cornerstone of the elite C9 League, China's Double First-Class Class A national initiative, and the former Project 985 and Project 211. PKU operates primarily across four expansive campus complexes: the legendary Yanyuan Main Campus (燕园校区) nestled in Haidian District amidst former imperial Qing dynasty gardens featuring Weiming Lake (未名湖), Boya Pagoda (博雅塔), and classical Qing-style academic courtyards; the Health Science Center (PKUHSC / 医学部) on Xueyuan Road overseeing 10 leading tertiary teaching hospitals; the Changping Innovation Campus (昌平新校区) dedicated to advanced artificial intelligence and high-performance computing; and the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKUSZ) in Guangdong housing the elite HSBC Business School (PHBS) and the School of Transnational Law (STL). Globally ranked #14 in both the QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World Rankings, PKU offers peerless education across 51 colleges with world-leading programs in Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics (NSD & GSM), Law, and China Studies (Yenching Academy).