Tongji University is one of the leading universities in China underdirect administration of Ministry of Education, listed on “Project 985” and “Project 211”. With a history of over a century, Tongji has valued the balanced development of four functions, i.e. education, research, outreach, and culture inheritance and innovation.
The history of Tongji can be traced back to 1907 when German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun, a German doctor in Shanghai. After being renamed Tongji German Medical School in the following year, it was formally established as a university in 1923. It became National Tongji University in 1927, one of the seven earliest national universities of China. Around 1949, Tongji already boasted five colleges of natural sciences, engineering, medical science, liberal arts and law, and enjoyed a fine reputation as a comprehensive university both home and abroad. Following a nationwide campaign of restructuring universities in 1952, Tongji became an engineering-intensive university with top-notch strength in civil engineering and architecture, which is second to none in terms of scale and number of disciplines. Since 1978, “two transforms” were launched, namely, the transforming to an international university by restoring links to Germany, and the transforming from a university focusing mainly on civil engineering to multi-disciplinary engineering university. In 1995, Tongji declared to be jointly built by the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal Government. By 2007 when it was celebrating its centennial, Tongji had become a comprehensive, international, research-oriented university with distinct features and global influence. In 2013, the university proposed its vision of “a sustainability-oriented, world-class university”.
The university now covers 10 broad categories of academic disciplines, including engineering, science, medicine, management, economics, philosophy, literature, law, education and arts. The number of faculty stands at 2,786, of which 855 are professors, and 997 associate professors. The university now registers 18,581 full-time undergraduate students, 13,762 graduate students, and 4,279 PhD candidates. Another 2,197 international students are pursuing their degrees here.
The university offers 75 undergraduate majors (50 of which are enrolling students according to 17 broad disciplinary categories).It can grant master degrees in 55 broad academic disciplines, together with 15 professional Master’s programs and 26 engineering Master’s programs. It also grants PhD degrees in 31 broad academic disciplines with 3 professional PhD programs and 25 post-doctoral mobile research stations. Of all the disciplines, 3 are first-level national key disciplines, 7 second-level national key disciplines, 3 second-level national key disciplines (incubated), and 17 first-level Shanghai disciplines. There are 3 State Key Laboratories, 1 National Engineering Lab, 5 National Engineering (Technology) Research Centers, and 26 ministerial/provincial-level key labs and engineering (technology) research centers as well as 7 affiliated hospitals and 4 affiliated high schools. Since its founding, Tongji has turned out nearly 300,000 graduates, among which many are extraordinary political leaders, scientists, educators, social activists, business leaders, medical specialists, and engineering technology experts. Over 140 alumni are academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Shanxi University, established in 1902, is in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, which has a history of 2,500 years. The school itself can be traced back to Sanli College, of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and Jinyang College and Lingde College, of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). In its early period, the school worked on integrating Chinese culture and Western culture and the arts and sciences. It had great flexibility in its management and advanced educational ideas, and was a cradle of higher education in China and a crucial center of culture, science, and education in Shanxi province for more than 100 years.

It covers many disciplines and 12 academic fields, with 90 undergraduate specialties and 17 undergraduate double-majors. There are three academic worksites, 14 post-doc research sites, 15 PhD disciplines, 37 master’s degree disciplines, and 13 engineering master’s degree disciplines. It also has two special PhD cross-disciplines that are not included in the Education Ministry’s catalogue of disciplines.

It has key State-level laboratories, Education Ministry laboratories, Education Ministry humanities and social sciences research bases, and an Education Ministry approved engineering research center, giving it a solid academic and scientific research foundation. It also handles important national 973 Projects, national 863 Projects, and projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, and the Social Science Foundation, 16 of which have won awards, including a national Natural Science award, national Technological Innovation award, national Scientific and Technological Progress award, Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities award from the Education Ministry, a Social Sciences award for Chinese Higher Education Institutions, and an Education Ministry Natural Science award.

XJTU is a key university which is 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, which was 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, and 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, as well as 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 scientific focus. It is composed of 10 branches of learning, namely: science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, literature, law, philosophy, education and art.

School motto:
“Rigor, integrity, determination and loyalty.”
Mission:
Cultivate upstanding, industrious and truth-seeking talents with a strong sense of social responsibility and a commitment to scientific inquiry and innovation. Commit itself to the advancement, preservation, application and dissemination of knowledge, so that it may contribute to the progress of science and technology, and the betterment of human society in China and the world at large.
Vision:
Fulfill its three-pronged mission of education, research, and social service and achieve prominence. By the middle period of 21 century, become a world-class research university honored at home and respected throughout the world, where prestigious teachers and talented students gather.