Best universities in China

Find out all about China’s top universities, and explore their world university ranking performance

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September 4 2020

Higher education in China has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with an increasing number of institutions appearing in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021.

Directives including Project 211, Project 985 and the Double First Class University Plan – which aim to improve the standards of the top 100 and top 40 Chinese universities – combined with huge national investment have seen China’s educational reputation rocket.

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And who wouldn’t want to study there? Home to almost 20 per cent of the people on Earth, China has one of the fastest developing economies. From cuisine to culture, China offers a unique experience.

The huge country boasts some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes on the planet, from the Rainbow Mountains in the Zhangye Danxia National Park to coastal fishing villages and vast cities that continue to expand. There’s something for everyone in China.

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With an ever increasing number of universities, China may seem overwhelming in its choice of places to study.

However, initiatives from the Chinese government have helpfully categorised the top universities into a system similar to the UK’s Russell Group and the Ivy League in the United States.

Established in 1995, Project 211 was designed to raise the research standards of China’s top universities. Institutions that reach a certain standard are rewarded with significantly increased funds. There have been 112 higher education institutions associated with Project 211.

Project 985 was established three years later and uses a similar strategy, although just 39 universities have received sponsorship as a result of this project, and in 2011 it was announced that no new universities would be granted membership to this exclusive group.

The most selective group is the C9 League, a group of the country’s top nine elite universities, which between them receive 10 per cent of China’s national research budget.

The most recent initiative is the Double First Class University Plan, which aims to develop a group of elite Chinese universities and individual university departments into world-class institutions and disciplines by the end of 2050. The list includes 42 institutions across the country.

Top 5 universities in China

1. Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University is located in the Haidian district of northwest Beijing. It was established in 1911.

It retains much of its traditional architecture, juxtaposed with many buildings built in a Western style, reflecting the historical American influence on the campus.

Tsinghua is a comprehensive research university. Its 20 schools and 54 departments cover disciplines in art, economics, education, engineering, history, management, medicine, law, literature, philosophy and sciences.

In terms of life outside studying, the university has more than 110 student associations covering science and technology, sport, arts and public welfare.

Many successful people in politics, academia and industry have graduated from Tsinghua University, including two Nobel prizewinners, physicists Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang.

2. Peking University

Peking University is a member of the C9 league, which is similar to the Ivy League group in the US, and is generally one of the highest ranked institutions in China.

It was the first modern national university in China, and since its founding in 1898, it has had a reputation as a leading educational institution.

The institution is renowned for its campuses in the Haidian district of northwest Beijing. It is home to some of the capital’s most prominent gardens and traditional architecture. Several gates lead in to campus, with the West Gate being the most well-known for the painted murals on its ceiling.

The university has established joint degree programmes with Cornell University, Yale University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Paris School of International Affairs, Waseda University, Seoul National University and the University of Tokyo to encourage international student exchanges.

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3. Fudan University

Fudan University comprises four campuses in downtown Shanghai: Handan, Fenglin, Zhangjiang and Jiangwan.

The university takes a liberal arts approach to teaching, with a number of its courses taught in English. Internationalisation is also a high priority at the institution with global connections and exchange programmes at almost 200 overseas universities including Columbia University, the University of Toronto, the University of Sydney, KU Leuven, the University of Manchester and Sciences Po.

Students are also encouraged to go on international exchanges, with about 40 per cent electing to do this.

The university is extremely selective, with fewer than 0.2 per cent of National College Entrance Examination (gao kao) takers being accepted.

4. University of Science and Technology of China

The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is a national research university in Hefei, Anhui province. It was founded to boost science and technology education in China.

There are 15 schools, teaching physical sciences, life sciences, software engineering and electro-optical technology, among many other science and technology disciplines.

USTC also has two national labs – the National Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale – the only university in the country to do so.

The institution is also home to a large library, a first-class computer network, and a hospital that treats students, employees and their families as well as providing teaching facilities for medical students.

5. Zhejiang University

Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China’s oldest and most selective universities.

Research at the university covers 12 academic disciplines: agriculture, art, economics, education, engineering, history, law, literature, management, medicine, natural sciences and philosophy.

A number of research centres are located on campus, including six national engineering research centres, three national key research centres of humanities and social sciences and 13 academies of independent studies.

The university has strategic partnerships with more than 140 universities in 30 countries worldwide, including Imperial College London, Princeton University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Top universities in China 2021

Click on each institution to see its full World University Rankings 2021 results

World University Rank 2021	China Rank 2021	University	Province/area
=20	1	Tsinghua University	Beijing
23	2	Peking University	Beijing
=70	3	Fudan University	Shanghai
=87	4	University of Science and Technology of China	Anhui
=94	5	Zhejiang University	Zhejiang
100	6	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	Shanghai
=111	7	Nanjing University	Jiangsu
251–300	=8	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	Guangdong
251–300	=8	Sun Yat-sen University	Guangdong
301–350	=10	Beijing Normal University	Beijing
301–350	=10	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	Hubei
301–350	=10	Wuhan University	Hubei
351–400	=13	Central South University	Hunan
351–400	=13	East China Normal University	Shanghai
351–400	=13	Nankai University	Tianjin
401–500	=16	Harbin Institute of Technology	Heilongjiang
401–500	=16	Hunan University	Hunan
401–500	=16	Shenzhen University	Guangdong
401–500	=16	South China University of Technology	Guangdong
401–500	=16	Tianjin University	Tianjin
401–500	=16	Tongji University	Shanghai
401–500	=16	Xi’an Jiaotong University	Shaanxi
501–600	=23	Beihang University	Beijing
501–600	=23	Beijing University of Chemical Technology	Beijing
501–600	=23	Beijing Institute of Technology	Beijing
501–600	=23	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	Sichuan
501–600	=23	Northwestern Polytechnical University	Shaanxi
501–600	=23	Renmin University of China	Beijing
501–600	=23	Soochow University	Jiangsu
501–600	=23	Southeast University	Jiangsu
501–600	=23	Southwestern University of Finance and Economics	Sichuan
501–600	=23	Xiamen University	Fujian
501–600	=23	Zhejiang Normal University	Zhejiang
601–800	=34	China Agricultural University	Beijing
601–800	=34	China University of Petroleum, Beijing	Beijing
601–800	=34	Chongqing University	Chongqing
601–800	=34	Dalian University of Technology	Liaoning
601–800	=34	Guangdong University of Technology	Guangdong
601–800	=34	Huazhong Agricultural University	Hubei
601–800	=34	University of International Business and Economics	Beijing
601–800	=34	Jiangsu Normal University	Jiangsu
601–800	=34	Jinan University	Guangdong
601–800	=34	Nanjing Agricultural University	Jiangsu
601–800	=34	Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology	Jiangsu
601–800	=34	Nanjing Medical University	Jiangsu
601–800	=34	Nanjing Tech University	Jiangsu
601–800	=34	Shandong University	Shandong
601–800	=34	Sichuan University	Sichuan
601–800	=34	Southern Medical University	Guangdong
601–800	=34	Xi‘an Jiaotong-Liverpool University	Jiangsu
801–1000	=51	Beijing Jiaotong University	Beijing
801–1000	=51	Capital Medical University	Beijing
801–1000	=51	China University of Geosciences, Beijing	Beijing
801–1000	=51	China University of Geosciences, Wuhan	Hubei
801–1000	=51	China University of Mining and Technology	Beijing
801–1000	=51	East China University of Science and Technology	Shanghai
801–1000	=51	Fuzhou University	Fujian
801–1000	=51	Jiangsu University	Jiangsu
801–1000	=51	Jilin University	Jilin
801–1000	=51	Nanjing Normal University	Jiangsu
801–1000	=51	Northeastern University	Liaoning
801–1000	=51	Northeast Normal University	Jilin
801–1000	=51	NorthWest A&F University	Shaanxi
801–1000	=51	Ocean University of China	Shangdong
801–1000	=51	University of Science and Technology Beijing	Beijing
801–1000	=51	Shanghai University	Jiangsu
801–1000	=51	Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE)	Shanghai
801–1000	=51	Shanghai Maritime University	Shanghai
801–1000	=51	Shantou University	Guangdong
801–1000	=51	South China Normal University	Guangdong
801–1000	=51	Wenzhou University	Zhejiang
801–1000	=51	Wuhan University of Technology	Hubei
801–1000	=51	Xidian University	Shaanxi
801–1000	=51	Yangzhou University	Jiangsu
801–1000	=51	Zhejiang University of Technology	Zhejiang
1001+	=76	Beijing Forestry University	Beijing
1001+	=76	Beijing University of Technology	Beijing
1001+	=76	Central University of Finance and Economics	Beijing
1001+	=76	China Pharmaceutical University	Jiangsu
1001+	=76	Guangxi University	Guagxi
1001+	=76	Huaqiao University	Fujian
1001+	=76	Jianghan University	Hubei
1001+	=76	Kunming University of Science and Technology	Yunnan
1001+	=76	Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics	Jiangsu
1001+	=76	North China Electric Power University	Beijing
1001+	=76	Northwest University	Shaanxi
1001+	=76	University of South China	Hunan
1001+	=76	Southwest Jiaotong University	Sichuan
1001+	=76	Wenzhou Medical University	Zhejiang
1001+	=76	Xiangtan University	Hunan
1001+	=76	Yanshan University	Hebei