Central China Normal University (CCNU) in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, originated in 1903 with the founding of the Boone College. This evolved into the university’s main predecessor, Huazhong University, which then merged with Zhongua University and the Pedagogical College of Zhongyuan University. Its current incarnation came in 1985, when the new name was formally given.
Nestled on a hill bordering a lake, the campus covers over 330 acres and is divided into two: the main campus and the south lake campus. This comprises 25 schools and departments and over 60 research centres.
As one of 211 institutions on the National Education Priority Project and a funded member of Project 985 since 2007, CCNU is one of China’s top three normal universities, or teachers’ colleges, together with East China Normal University and Beijing Normal University.
The university was one of the first in China to offer doctoral and postgraduate degrees, and now offers 94 doctoral programmes and 184 masters programmes. CCNU has academic links with over 20 higher education institutions around the world, with the main ones including Oxford University, McGill University, and Moscow State University.
The university hosts two national key laboratories: the Laboratory for Quark and Lepton Physics and the Laboratory for Pesticide Science and Chemical Biology. In 2014, CCNU signed cooperation agreements with GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, RMIT University, and Macquarie University.
Alumni of note include early leader of the Communist Party of China, Yun Daiying, Foreign Minister of China, Chen Yi, and 1978 to 1992 leader of China, Deng Xiaoping.
