Hanshan Normal University boasts the longest history of normal education in Guangdong Province, tracible to the "Hanshan Academy" founded in the
Song Dynasty to commemorate
Han Yu, a great literary figure of the
Tang Dynasty who once served as the governor of Chaozhou. More recently, it was the "Huizhou-Chaozhou-Jieyang Normal School" established in 1903 during the
Qing Dynasty. After the establishment of the
Republic of China, the school changed its name several times: "Guangdong Provincial Second Normal School" in 1921, "Guangdong Provincial Hanshan Normal School" in 1935, and "Hanshan Normal School" in 1949. After the founding of the
People's Republic of China, the school was upgraded to Hanshan Normal College at the junior college level in 1958. But after the end of the
Great Leap Forward, the college was downgraded to Hanshan Normal School in 1963. In 1969, Hanshan Normal School merged with Shantou Regional Teachers' Continuing Education School to become Shantou Regional Normal School. In 1978, with the approval of the
State Council, Hanshan Normal College was reopened directly under the jurisdiction of the
Guangdong Provincial People's Government. In 2018, Hanshan Normal University, along with 11 undergraduate universities in Guangdong, were approved by the Provincial Department of Education as a university for the "Guangdong National Teacher Education Innovation Experimental Zone". On March 22, 2024, Hanshan Normal University became a master degree granting institution, for the programs in education, resources and environment, and biology and medicine. ==Campus==