Tsinghua and Peking Universities

Tsinghua and Peking Universities:Schools of Self-discipline and Social Commitment

Haotian WuGrade 10Clear Springs High SchoolGreen Team America Offices, Houston, TX.

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Tsinghua University

Tsinghua UniversityFounded in 1911, the universitys current name was adopted in 1928.Located in Beijing, the university was built on the grounds of a former Qing Dynasty garden.Due to many events in the Chinas history such as The Boxer Rebellion, the architecture incorporates western elements as well as eastern ones.In the year 1937, during the events of WWII, Tsinghua University merged with Peking and Nankai Universities to form the National Southwestern Associated University, but soon disbanded after the war.

Even though the university was disassembled and had many of its schools removed, Tsinghua University still remained the MIT of China.

Students find it difficult to get accepted as Tsinghua University is annually ranked as being in the top 2 universities in China, if not ranked first.As of now, Tsinghua University offers 14 schools and 56 departments in various areas such as science, law, medicine, history, philosophy, economics, management and art. Its facility is located in northwest Beijing in Haidian district; an area designed specifically for educational purposes.

The campus architect T. Chuang was a 1914 graduate of the University of Illinois.The architectural styles used for the University of Illinois were incorporated into the design for Tsinghua Universitys campus.It is often said that Tsinghua University and its rival, Peking University have the most beautiful campuses in China.

Peking University

Peking UniversityPeking University was founded in 1898 during the Hundred Days Reform as a replacement to the old Imperial School.In the year 1966, Chinas Cultural Revolution first made its impact at Peking University, causing education to be temporarily halted from 1966 to 1970.Peking University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, 216 research institutions and research centers, as well as 2 national engineering research centers and 12 national key laboratories.The previous campus of Peking University was located in the center of Beijing, situated north of the Forbidden City.

The current campus is located in the Haidian District; the same district that houses Tsinghua University.Like Tsinghua University, Peking University is also situated on the former grounds of a Qing Dynasty Garden.Another similarity is that the school includes many of Chinas historic architectural elements in its buildings. Peking University has been known to educate some of Chinas finest, including leaders such as Mao Zedong.In 1989, Peking University students led the Tianmen Square Protest in order to bring democracy to China.