XJTU is a key university directly administered by the Chinese Education Ministry and is one of the oldest current institutions of higher education in China. The predecessor of XJTU was Nanyang College, founded in 1896 in Shanghai and renamed Jiaotong University in 1921. In 1956, the main body of Jiaotong University was moved to Xi'an according to the decision issued by the State Council. It was formally named Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1959, which was listed as a national key university. Xi'an Jiaotong University, as one of the first universities entering the seventh and eighth five-plan, and China's "211 Project" and "985 Project", is selected to be developed into a global first-class university. In April 2000, approved by the State Council, the original Xi'an Medical University and original Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics were integrated into Xi'an Jiaotong University.
Currently, Xi'an Jiaotong University is a comprehensive research university with a scientific focus. It is composed of 10 branches of learning: science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, literature, law, philosophy, education, and art. XJTU boasts a high-level staff of 5,696, including 3,006 full-time teachers, 1,800 professors, and associated professors. XJTU has 29 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering; 17 are doubled-hired. There are six national-level teachers, 57 Changjiang Scholars, 35 Outstanding Young Investigator Award laureates, 20 national experts with outstanding contribution to the country, 41 nation-level candidates of the National Talents Project, and the 21st Century National Talents Project, 19 leaders of the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team, 234 personnel of 21st Century Excellent Talents Training Plan proposed by the Ministry of Education, and 535 experts who have made outstanding contributions and enjoy special governmental allowances.
XJTU has a current enrollment of 32,200 full-time students, including over 15,744 master's and doctoral candidates. The university offers 83 undergraduate majors. It consists of 28 disciplines and 154 sub-disciplines authorized to confer Ph.D. degrees and 45 disciplines and 242 sub-disciplines authorized to confer Master Degrees, and 22 centers to confer professional degrees. There are eight nation-level vital disciplines, eight nation-level vital sub-disciplines, three nation-level key sub-discipline pilot sites. Also, 27 disciplines and 155 sub-disciplines are recognized as key disciplines at the provincial and ministerial level.
During its more than 120 year history, Xi'an Jiaotong University has forged a set of principles to which it has remained steadfast: devotion to learning makes the country more vital creation grows out of hard work honor rectitude, and respect truth learn teaching rigorously, and the character of loving China and the university and bearing in mind where one's happiness comes from. The university also insists on the school-operational characteristic of having "a high starting point, a profound foundation, strict requirements and focusing on practice," which continually carves out and innovates and diligently trains people. Among XJTU's outstanding alumni are Cai E, Huang Yanpei, Shao Lizi, Li Shutong, Ling Hongxun, Zou Taofen, Lu Dingyi, Hou Shaoqiu, Qian Xuesen, Wang An, Tian Binggeng, and Jiang Zemin. Over 200 XJTU alumni, including Mao Yisheng, Wu Youxun, Zhu Wuhua, Zhang Guangdou, Zhang Wei, and Wu Wenjun, have been honored with membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. Since moving to Xi'an over 60 years ago, XJTU has educated many talented individuals in many fields; its graduates have achieved distinction in all walks of life.
In recent years, the university has been following a path of active exploration and bold innovation. It seeks to implement the national reform plan for the comprehensive restructuring of higher education. In 2006, XJTU took the lead among Chinese universities when it undertook to create a system of residential colleges modeled on the traditional Chinese academy of learning. This twin college system is aimed at giving our students the best possible chance for success. In 2007, XJTU established the "Qian Xuesen Experimental Class" for exceptionally gifted students and the "Zonglian Experimental Class," whose purpose is to develop an appropriate classroom model for medical education. In 2010, the university's first Experimental Class for Talents of Basic Subject was started. As one of only two universities in China with a "class for gifted young people," XJTU has received praise from students and parents alike for its unique educational model, favorable study environment, excellent teachers, and substantial teaching resources, and its positive good teaching results. So far, the university has received 60 national teaching awards. It currently has 34 national elite courses, eight national-level teaching centers, and nine national-level teaching teams. To date, 26 XJTU dissertations have been recipients of the annual award given to "China's 100 best doctoral dissertations," another 46 have been nominated for that award.
Research in science and technology at XJTU is directed primarily at meeting the nation's most essential needs, forging into international frontiers, contributing to autonomous creation, and accelerate industrial application. To this end, XJTU is continually strengthening its capacity to innovate while seeking to raise its competitiveness level. Since 2000, the university has been awarded 45 national science and technology prizes as the first author.
Xi'an Jiaotong University has worked hard to create an environment conducive to "dynamic thinking, dynamic learning, and dynamic living." It owns a national-level center for cultural education and boasts 203 student organizations. "Jiuzhou Experts," "Discussing the World," "Grand Schoolroom in Siyuan," and "Study Forum" have become well-known venues in which students can expand their horizons. In recent years, XJTU students have collected awards in a wide range of competitions, including the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest, International Varsity Debate, International Debate Tournament, International English Speech Contest, Asian Area Selection Match for ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, International Mathematical Contest in Modeling, the World Architecture Design Competition for University Students, "Challenge Cup" National University Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Work Competition, "Challenge Cup" Business Plan Competition, the National Intelligence Vehicle Competition, "Edison Cup" Technology Innovation Competition, National Aviation, and Space Model (research- type) Tournament and University Students Business Plan Competition of Chinese Inspiration Program.
Xi'an Jiaotong University has extensive ties with the world of international scholarship and research. Since 2000, 14 Nobel laureates, 1 Fields Prize winner, and over 2,000 foreign professors have been invited to the campus to give lectures. Over 17,000 scholars, CEOs, and high-level government officials worldwide have been involved in exchanges or other kinds of collaborative activity with XJTU. More than 8,000 XJTU teachers and students have gone abroad to visit, study, do research or participate in degree programs, and over 2,000 faculty members and researchers have traveled abroad for conferences. The university has built inter-university cooperative relationships with 145 universities and research institutions in 42 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and Korea. Over 900 foreign experts have come to work at the university. Also, there are currently 1,098 international students from over 86 countries studying at XJTU.
Xi'an Jiatong University, located in Xi'an in Shaanxi province, has three campuses: the Xingqing campus, the Yanta campus, and the Qujiang campus, covering a total area of 1.9894 million square meters. The total constructed area is 2.0385 million square meters. The library collections include 5.0701 million books and 10,053 newspapers and periodicals, of which 4,089 types are current periodicals. The library has also been improving its digital collections and has recently introduced 252 foreign electronic resources. Its holdings now include 28,639 electronic periodicals in Chinese and foreign languages, more than one million electronic books and 1.07 million e-books, and 15 kinds of world-famous periodicals covering more than one hundred years. The library's computer system is fully integrated with the campus network, CERNET, and the Internet. On and off-campus, users have access to the system via a remote terminal or over the Internet. The university's computer network meets the highest international standards. Students are housed in modern dormitories and may choose from various dishes in the university's extensive dining facilities. The Siyuan Student Activities Center, with a total area of over 10,000 square meters, is the venue for a variety of events, and the university's athletic fields and playgrounds are modernly equipped. The university has an extensive system of scholarships and stipends, with scholarships for undergraduates totaling 12 million Yuan per year and additional annual support in loans totaling 14.4 million Yuan. The university has also established an "innovation fund" to provide support for graduate students. Each year, it distributes about 50 million Yuan. The university has a modern psychological health education and counseling center for university students.
On June 5, 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao visited the university, meeting with teachers and students. Those present will always remember and cherish his words: "May one-hundred-year-old XJTU remain young and energetic forever!" XJTU alumnus Jiang Zemin has returned to his Alma Mater four times and has spoken of it with words of praise: "With its verdant pines and cypresses, and quiet beauty, the campus is the ideal place to study, the ideal environment to bring forth knowledge, wisdom and new scientists with new ideas."
In this new century, Xi'an Jiaotong University continues to renew itself to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of higher education, domestically and internationally, gradually evolving a model of higher education that is suited to international developments while constructing at the same time a modern scientific approach to policy-making, policy execution, and supervision, to provide the university with a management structure meeting international standards. Together, the two lay a firm foundation for building Xi'an Jiaotong University into a top-flight international university.
