Peking University

Establishment Following China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, intellectuals – including Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Yan Fu – called for reforms to the country's education system. In June 1896, Minister Li Duanfen proposed to create a university in the capital. On 11 June 1898, the Guangxu Emperor, as part of the Hundred Days' Reform, authorised the creation of the Imperial University of Peking (). (). Early Republic of China period (1916–1927) The noted scholar Cai Yuanpei was appointed president on 26 December 1917. He helped transform Peking University into the country's largest institution of higher learning, with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. President Cai, inspired by the German model of academic freedom, introduced faculty governance and democratic management to the university. A firm supporter for freedom of thought, Cai advocated for educational independence and resigned several times protesting the government's policy and interference. in the May Fourth Movement.On 1 May 1919, some students of Peking University learned that the Treaty of Versailles would allow Japan to receive Germany's colonising rights in Shandong province. An assembly at Peking University that included these students and representatives from other universities in Beijing was quickly organised. On 4 May, students from thirteen universities marched to Tiananmen to protest the terms of Treaty of Versailles, demanded the Beiyang government to refuse to sign the treaty. Demonstrators also demanded the immediate resignation of three officials: Cao Rulin, Minister of the Ministry of Transportation, Zhang Zongxiang, China's Ambassador to Japan and Lu Zongyu, Minister of Currency, who they believed were in cooperation with Japanese. The protest ended up with some protesters being beaten and arrested, and Cao Rulin's house burned by protesters. Following the protest on 4 May, students, workers and merchants from nearly all China's major cities went on strike and boycotted Japanese goods in China. The Beiyang government eventually agreed to release the arrested students and fired the three officials under intense public pressure, China's representatives in Paris refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The pseudonym sounds like a person's name but is a homophone for "two schools". On 20 February 2017, the university officially signed a contract with the Open University to establish the Oxford Campus of Peking University HSBC Business School, Peking University Oxford Center and Shenzhen Oxford Innovation Center. On 29 June 2020, the Sino-Russian Mathematics Center was established. The Sino-Russian Mathematics Center is led by Peking University and Moscow State University, and jointly constructed by relevant domestic units and other Russian universities and research institutes such as St. Petersburg University, relying on the "Double First-class" construction alliance in mathematics. On 2 April 2021, Peking University Nanchang Innovation Research Institute was inaugurated. On 15 July 2021, Peking University School of Integrated Circuitswas inaugurated. On 6 September 2021, the new Changping campus of Peking University was officially opened, welcoming the first batch of teachers and students. On 30 September, Peking University Lanyuan Centre was officially launched. The first dean of Lanyuan Centre is Ke Yang, Professor of Peking University School of Clinical Oncology and a foreign academician of the American Academy of Medical Sciences. In October, Peking University officially announced the establishment of Peking University School of Computer Science, which means the computer major of Peking University was officially upgraded from a department to a school. Yang Fuqing, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, served as the honorary president. In 2022, Peking University and Lancet established a commission on healthy aging in China. The Commission's purpose is to re-focus the debate on aging not just on the risks of China's aging population but on opportunities by "unleashing the intellectual and vocational capacities of the older population and the whole of Chinese society." In March 2025, PKU split its former Faculty of Information and Engineering into two new faculties—Faculty of Informatics and Faculty of Engineering, with the latter having added two newly established schools—School of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics and School of Mechanics and Engineering Science. == Campus ==

The university campus is on the former site of Qing dynasty imperial gardens and it retains traditional Chinese-style landscaping, including traditional houses, gardens, pagodas, and notable historical buildings and structures. American architect and art historian Talbot Hamlin designed some of the university's buildings constructed during the 1919 to 1922 period. There are several gates that lead into campus — East, West and South gates, with the West Gate being the most well known for the painted murals on its ceiling. Weiming Lake is in the north of the campus and is surrounded by walking paths and small gardens. The university hosts many museums, such as the Museum of University History and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology. Notable items in these museums include funerary objects that were excavated in Beijing and date back thousands of years from the graves of royals of the Warring States period. There are ritual pottery vessels as well as elaborate pieces of jewelry on display. There are also human bones set up in the traditional burial style of that period. In 2001, Peking University's Shenzhen campus, the Shenzhen Graduate School, opened its doors. The campus is located in the northwest part of Shenzhen City. File:Winter in Peking University Winter in 2013.jpeg|Peking University during winter. The campus is situated on a former imperial garden. File:北大的秋天.jpg|Peking University during the autumn File:10 Peking University.jpg|The College of Architecture and Landscape File:北京大学，未名湖畔，博雅塔.jpg|Boya Pagoda File:The Lee Shau Kee Humanities Buildings 1.jpg|The Humanities Buildings File:PekingUniversitycampus1.jpg|A stone bridge inside the campus File:Building, Peking University, 2011042204.jpg|A gymnasium building File:Peking University West Gate.jpg|Peking University West Gate File:PekingUniversityPic11.jpg|Peking University's Main Library File:Weiming lake peking university.jpg|Weiming Lake occupies the central part of the campus of Peking University File:北京慈济寺遗址 2021-06-18.jpg|The old site of the Ciji Temple at the Weiming Lake File:PKUsciencebuilding.jpg|Peking University's Science Teaching Building File:School of International Studies, Peking University 20120715.jpg|School of International Studies File:College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering.jpg|College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering File:北大的春天.jpg|Peking University during the spring File:北京大學島亭.jpg|The Daoting, a pavilion on the university campus File:School of Archaeology and Museology .jpg|School of Archaeology and Museology File:Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Peking University.JPG|Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Arts and Archaeology File:Department of History .jpg|Department of History File:School of Life Sciences.jpg|School of Life Sciences File:Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research.jpg|Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research File:Department of Chinese Language and Literature.jpg|Department of Chinese Language and Literature == Academics ==

'' Peking University consists of 55 schools and departments, with 137 majors for undergraduates, 59 Master's degree programs, and 59 doctoral programs. At present, Peking University has 420 research institutions, including 7 State Key Laboratories, 5 National Engineering Research Centers, and 1 National Laboratory. With 8 million holdings, the university library is the largest of its kind in Asia. Peking University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University jointly administer the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. Over the past century, some Peking University alumni have become presidents of other major Chinese universities, including former Tsinghua President Luo Jialun, Renmin University President Yuan Baohua, Zhejiang University President Qian Sanqiang, Fudan University President Zhang Zhirang, Nankai University President Teng Weizao, Chinese University of Science and Technology President Guan Weiyan and many others. Rankings and reputation General rankings {{Infobox university rankings Several rankings have placed Peking University among the top universities in mainland China. In 2025, QS Asia University Rankings has put it at the top among all Asian universities. The 2025 QS Rankings ranked Peking University 14th in the world and first in Asia. As of 2025, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings has ranked Peking University 13th in the world and 2nd in Asia, with its teaching and research environment indicators placing 9th and 6th in the world respectively. The 2023 QS Rankings ranked Peking University 12th in the world and first in Asia. , the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Peking University 13th in the world, with its teaching and research environment indicators placed at 9th and 7th in the world respectively. Peking University was also ranked 15th in the world and 1st in the Asia-Pacific in The Three University Missions Ranking. The Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the "Shanghai Ranking", placed Peking University 23rd in the world and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific. As of 2025, the U.S. News & World Report ranked Peking University 25th in the world, 3rd in the Asia-Pacific and 2nd in China. In the Times Higher Education Global Employability University Ranking 2025, an annual ranking of university graduates' employability, Peking University was ranked 11th in the world and 2nd in Asia. In 2025, it ranked 11th in world reputation, according to the THE, and 22 of its subjects ranked in the top 1% in the world, according to Essential Science Indicators, which is an analytics database developed by the British-American company Clarivate that identifies top-performing research and emerging trends within the Web of Science Core Collection. For the high quality of research in natural science and health science, Peking University ranked 5th among the leading institutions, and 4th among the leading universities globally in the Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders by Nature Research. In 2024, it ranked 7th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings. In November 2024, Clarivate Analytics ranked Peking University 12th in the world for the most Highly Cited Researchers. Subjects Rankings List of schools Library On 24 October 2018, Peking University Library, the largest library among Asian universities, held the opening ceremony of the 120th anniversary at the Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center. National School of Development The National School of Development (formerly China Center for Economic Research) is ranked amongst the top five most influential think tanks in China. In 1998, Justin Yifu Lin et al. jointly founded the Beijing International MBA at Peking University (BiMBA), which is ranked among the top six MBA programs by Quacquarelli Symonds in its TopMBA ranking of the best MBA programs in Asia Pacific for the year 2014–2015. BiMBA has also been ranked as the second most valuable full-time MBA in China by Forbes (after CEIBS) and among Asia's best business schools by Bloomberg Business. Shenzhen Graduate School Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School is a satellite campus of Peking University located in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It was founded in September 2001 in collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal Government and is located in University Town of Shenzhen along with Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School and Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) campus. Dr. Wen Hai, a renowned economist in China and the vice-president of Peking University is the present chancellor of PKU Shenzhen. The graduate school houses several research schools including, Peking University HSBC Business School and Peking University School of Transnational Law. On 29 August 2016, Peking University signed a strategic agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to further develop its Shenzhen Graduate School, the university plans build a brand new campus near the existed graduate school and open undergraduate programs. International cooperation Every year, there are approximately 7,000 international students studying at Peking University. Peking University offers dual degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels with the renowned Waseda University (早稲田大学) in Northeast Asia. It is one of the most engaged partners with Waseda, having established a strong cooperative relationship of the highest level. This partnership began with an academic agreement in 1982, enhancing dual degree programs and joint research initiatives since 2003. Under the PKU-Waseda project, each year, the university selects undergraduates to spend their third year studying at Waseda University in Japan, and then they return to Peking University for their fourth year. Simultaneously, Waseda University sends numerous students to Peking University as exchange students. Upon graduation, students receive two bachelor's degrees, one from each university. Additionally, joint master's student training programs and dual doctoral degree programs with Waseda University are also in operation. The comprehensive collaboration of offering dual degrees at all bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, as seen in the Peking-Waseda partnership, is rare on a global scale. The dormitories for international students at the main campus are located at Shaoyuan Garden (勺园) and Zhongguanyuan Global Village (中关新园). Its international students are made up of students from most countries in the world including most of Western Europe, North America, and South America, Asia, Australia and many countries in Africa. In 2005, Peking University and Cornell University signed an agreement formally establishing the China and Asia-Pacific Studies major at Cornell, which requires students to spend a semester studying at Peking University while working at internships. In 2006, PKU launched a joint undergraduate program with Yale University PKU's School of International Studies also launched joint degree programs with London School of Economics, Paris School of International Affairs, Seoul National University, and the University of Tokyo. PKU also has a longstanding relationship with Stanford University which operates a joint research center and base for Stanford students and scholars at the Stanford Center at Peking University, located in the Lee Jung Sen Building. The Peking University HSBC Business School has joint degree programs with University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong Kong. The university has maintained a partnership with the Freie Universität Berlin since 1981 and the Higher School of Economics since 2015, and in 2019, became a partner of Washington University in St. Louis through the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. Global excellence strategy On the 121st founding anniversary, Peking University unveiled the "Global Excellence Strategy", an international blueprint aiming to enhance Peking University's global presence during the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". The "Global Excellence Strategy" aims to strengthen international cooperation, overcome development barriers, gather global resources, and stimulate collegial relationships. The Global Excellence Strategy is based upon the English word "CLOUDS", representing the "cloud era" of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". Each letter stands for a corresponding word, namely creativity, leadership, openness, uniqueness, diversity and shaping. Art research at Peking University Peking University has participated in many joint art-research projects, such as the Center for the Art of East Asia (CAEA) with the University of Chicago, and Department of Digital Art and Design with UNESCO. == Notable people ==

Notable alumni Notable alumni include the current chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the third-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee Zhao Leji. Other alumni in politics include former premier of China Li Keqiang, former vice premier of China Hu Chunhua, former minister of Education, Chen Baosheng; current Chief Executive of Macao, Sam Hou Fai; former minister of Natural resources, Wang Guanghua; current Minister of the United Front Work Department, Shi Taifeng, former Governor of the Central Bank of China, Yi Gang, former Interpol-president, Meng Hongwei, and former minister of commerce and Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing, Bo Xilai. Notable alumni in the sciences include Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, who for her work in discovering artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin used to treat malaria, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura; nuclear physicists and contributors to Chinese nuclear weapons program Qian Sanqiang and Deng Jiaxian, and "father of the Chinese hydrogen bomb" physicist Yu Min, nuclear physicist Zhu Guangya, particle physicist and discoverer of the partial conservation of the axial current, Zhou Guangzhao; mathematician and MacArthur Fellow Yitang Zhang, neurosurgeon Wang Zhongcheng, pulmonologist and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, Zhong Nanshan, and chief economist of the World Bank, Justin Yifu Lin. Notable alumni in the humanities and arts include author Lu Xun, philosopher and essayist Hu Shih, polymath Lin Yutang, philosopher Liang Shuming, Zhang Shenfu, Qing-dynasty educator Gu Hongming, anthropologist Fei Xiaotong, translator Li Bulou, computer scientist Wang Xuan, and author Jin Yong. Notable international alumni include emeritus professor and linguist Michael Halliday, author Julia Ebner, and philosopher Professor Li Chenyang. Notable alumni in business include co-founder and CEO of Baidu, billionaire Robin Li, and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun. Other notable alumni include chess grandmaster, four-time Women's World Chess Champion, and Rhodes Scholar Hou Yifan. File:Gu hongming.jpg|Gu Hongming, translator and educator. File:LuXun1930.jpg|Lu Xun, leading figure of modern Chinese literature. File:Hu Shih 1960.jpg|Hu Shih, influential Chinese philosopher and essayist. File:Portrait of Lin Yutang LCCN2004663768.jpg|Lin Yutang, Chinese writer, linguist, inventor, and translator. File:Liang Shuming2.jpg|Liang Shuming, philosopher. File:Deng Jiaxian 1949.jpg|Nuclear physicist and key contributor to the Chinese nuclear weapon program Deng Jiaxian. File:Fei Xiaotong 01.jpg|Fei Xiaotong, sociologist and anthropologist. File:钱三强何泽慧.jpg|Nuclear physicist and leading organizer of the Chinese nuclear weapon program, Qian Sanqiang. File:Li Keqiang-19052015.png|Former Premier of China, Li Keqiang (LLB, PhD) File:Tu Youyou 5056-2015.jpg|Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, pharmaceutical chemist and educator, recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. File:Robin Li at the Web 2.0 Summit 2010 (cropped).jpg|Co-founder and CEO of Baidu, billionaire Robin Li (BSc, Information Management, 1991) File:Hou Yifan (29762728494) (cropped).jpg|Four-time Women's World Chess Champion, Hou Yifan (BA, International Relations, 2018) File:Ding Liren 1, Candidates Tournament 2018.jpg|World Chess Champion and highest-rated Chinese chess player in history, Ding Liren (BA, Law) File:Yitang Zhang.jpg|Mathematician and MacArthur Fellow Yitang Zhang (BA 1982, MA 1984) Notable academics and staff Peking University has benefited from the services of notable academics and staff. These include founder of the People's Republic of China Mao Zedong who worked as a library staff at the university, as first claimed in Edward Snow's Red Star Over China. Although Mao audited classes while working at PKU, he was not a formally enrolled student and did not graduate from the university. The university's second president was educator, politician, and revolutionary Cai Yuanpei, who was the first to bring European university concept to China after a stint at Free University of Berlin and fought for the school to be named "Beijing Daxue". Cai equally protected the freedom of expression of his staff and students, allowing a plethora of influential journals, including New Youth and New Tide. Peking University students participated heavily in the May Fourth Movement, spurned and sometimes also held back by staff from the time. More recently, the university has been home to influential economist Michael Pettis. == See also ==