Best universities in China 2020

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

September 16 2019

Higher education in China has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with an increasing number of institutes appearing in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.

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

And who wouldn’t want to study there? An enormous country, home to more than 20 per cent of the people on Earth, China has one of the fastest developing economies. From cuisine to culture, China offers something completely unique.

The huge country is home to some of the most diverse and stunning landscapes on the planet; from the Rainbow Mountains in Zhangye, to the fishing villages along the coast and even the incomprehensibly vast cities that continue to expand, there’s something for everyone in China.

Best universities worldwide

Best universities in Asia
Best universities in Singapore
Best universities in Hong Kong
Best universities in the United States
Best universities in Australia
Best universities in the UK
Best universities in the world

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

However, a number of initiatives from the Chinese government have helpfully categorised the top universities, similarly to the UK’s Russell Group system 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 able to gain 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 was the Double First Class University Plan, which aims to develop a group of elite Chinese universities and individual university departments into world-class universities 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, Tsung-Dao Lee and Yang Chen Ning.

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, 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.

The student experience in China

My experience as a foreign student in China led to a job with Google
Five reasons why you should study in China
University life in: China
International perspective: an American student in China
Why more students are choosing to study in China
The cost of studying at a university in China
What is the ‘gao kao’ and how can you prepare for it?

3. University of Science and Technology of China

The University of Science and Technology of China 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.

There are also 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, and provides teaching facilities for medical students.

4. Zhejiang University

Zhejiang University is one of China’s oldest, most selective universities, having been founded in 1897.

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 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

5. 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, University of Toronto, University of Sydney, KU Leuven, 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 less than 0.2 per cent of National College Entrance Examination (“Gaokao”) takers being accepted.

Top universities in China 2020

Click on each institution to see its full World University Rankings 2020 results

China Rank 2020	World University Rank 2020	University	Province/Area
1	23	Tsinghua University	Beijing
2	24	Peking University	Beijing
3	=80	University of Science and Technology of China	Anhui
4	=107	Zhejiang University	Zhejiang
5	109	Fudan University	Shanghai
6	=144	Nanjing University	Jiangsu
7	=157	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	Shanghai
8	251–300	Sun Yat-sen University	Guangdong
=9	301–350	Beijing Normal University	Beijing
=9	301–350	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	Hubei
=9	301–350	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	Guangdong
=12	351–400	Nankai University	Tianjin
=12	351–400	Wuhan University	Hubei
=14	401–500	Central South University	Hunan
=14	401–500	Harbin Institute of Technology	Heilongjiang
=14	401–500	Hunan University	Hunan
=14	401–500	Tongji University	Shanghai
=18	501–600	Beihang University	Beijing
=18	501–600	East China Normal University	Shanghai
=18	501–600	Renmin University of China	Beijing
=18	501–600	Shenzhen University	Guangdong
=18	501–600	Soochow University	Jiangsu
=18	501–600	South China University of Technology	Guangdong
=18	501–600	Southeast University	Jiangsu
=18	501–600	Tianjin University	Tianjin
=18	501–600	Xiamen University	Fujian
=18	501–600	Xi’an Jiaotong University	Shaanxi
=28	601–800	Beijing Institute of Technology	Beijing
=28	601–800	China Agricultural University	Beijing
=28	601–800	China University of Petroleum, Beijing	Beijing
=28	601–800	Dalian University of Technology	Liaoning
=28	601–800	East China University of Science and Technology	Shanghai
=28	601–800	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	Sichuan
=28	601–800	Huazhong Agricultural University	Hubei
=28	601–800	University of International Business and Economics	Beijing
=28	601–800	Jiangsu Normal University	Jiangsu
=28	601–800	Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology	Jiangsu
=28	601–800	Nanjing Medical University	Jiangsu
=28	601–800	Nanjing Normal University	Jiangsu
=28	601–800	Northwestern Polytechnical University	Shaanxi
=28	601–800	Shandong University	Shandong
=28	601–800	Sichuan University	Sichuan
=43	801–1000	Beijing Jiaotong University	Beijing
=43	801–1000	Capital Medical University	Beijing
=43	801–1000	China University of Geosciences, Beijing	Beijing
=43	801–1000	China University of Geosciences, Wuhan	Hubei
=43	801–1000	China University of Mining and Technology	Beijing
=43	801–1000	China Pharmaceutical University	Jiangsu
=43	801–1000	Chongqing University	Chongqing
=43	801–1000	Fuzhou University	Fuzhou
=43	801–1000	Guangdong University of Technology	Guangdong
=43	801–1000	Jiangsu University	Jiangsu
=43	801–1000	Jilin University	Jilin
=43	801–1000	Jinan University	Guangdong
=43	801–1000	Nanjing Agricultural University	Jiangsu
=43	801–1000	Nanjing Tech University	Jiangsu
=43	801–1000	Northeastern University	Liaoning
=43	801–1000	Northeast Normal University	Jilin
=43	801–1000	Northwest University	Shaanxi
=43	801–1000	NorthWest A&F University	Shaanxi
=43	801–1000	University of Science and Technology Beijing	Beijing
=43	801–1000	Shanghai University	Jiangsu
=43	801–1000	Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE)	Shanghai
=43	801–1000	Shanghai Maritime University	Shanghai
=43	801–1000	Shantou University	Guangdong
=43	801–1000	Southwestern University of Finance and Economics	Sichuan
=43	801–1000	Wuhan University of Technology	Hubei
=43	801–1000	Xiangtan University	Hunan
=43	801–1000	Xidian University	Shaanxi
=43	801–1000	Yangzhou University	Jiangsu
=71	1001+	Guangxi University	Guangxi
=71	1001+	Huaqiao University	Fujian
=71	1001+	Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics	Nanjing
=71	1001+	North China Electric Power University	Beijing
=71	1001+	Ocean University of China	Shangdong
=71	1001+	University of South China	Hunan
=71	1001+	Southern Medical University	Baiyun District
=71	1001+	Southwest Jiaotong University	Sichuan
=71	1001+	Wenzhou Medical University	Wenzhou
=71	1001+	Yanshan University	Hebei
=71	1001+	Zhejiang University of Technology	Zhejiang