Wuhan University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wuhan University

武汉大学
Motto	自强 弘毅 求是 拓新
Motto in English	Self-improvement, Perseverance, Truth-seeking, Innovation
Type	Public
Established	1893; 132 years ago (1893). Reformed as university in 1923.
President	Zhang Pingwen
Academic staff	7,325
Students	58,720
Location	Wuhan , Hubei , China
Campus	Urban, 3.5 km2
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	武汉大学
Traditional Chinese	武漢大學
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wǔhàn Dàxué

Wuhan University (often called WHU) is a large public university in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It gets its funding and support from the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of important national plans like Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First-Class Construction, which aim to make it a world-class university.

History of Wuhan University

Wuhan University has a long and interesting history. It started in 1893 as the Ziqiang Institute.

In 1926, several schools in Wuhan joined together to form the National Wuchang Sun Yat-sen University. This new university had many subjects, including liberal arts, science, law, economics, and medicine.

A special message given to the first graduates of National Wuhan University by Cai Yuanpei

Two years later, in 1928, the government officially created the National Wuhan University. It had four main colleges: liberal arts, law, science, and engineering.

The Guangxu Emperor of the Qing dynasty approved the start of the Ziqiang Institute.

After 1949, the university was taken over by the Communist Party and became known simply as Wuhan University.

The former library, shown in the university's logo, sits on top of old dorms.

Academics and Students

Wuhan University is a very big school! In 2018, it had over 29,000 students studying for their first degree (undergraduates). It also had nearly 20,000 students working on their master's degrees and over 7,000 students studying for their Ph.D. degrees. Plus, more than 2,400 students came from other countries to study there.

University Rankings

Wuhan University is known as one of the best universities in China and around the world. Many groups that rank universities place it very high.

Rankings in China

Wuhan University is often ranked among the top 10 universities in China. For example, in 2016, one ranking group, CUAA, placed it as the 4th best university in the country.

Global Rankings

Globally, Wuhan University is usually in the top 200 universities.

• In 2022, the QS World University Rankings placed it 194th in the world and 8th in China.
• U.S. News & World Report ranked it 150th globally in 2022.
• The Academic Ranking of World Universities put it between 101st and 150th in the world in 2022.
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked it 157th in the world in 2022.

Wuhan University is also seen as one of the most respected Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings.

Research at WHU

Wuhan University is also strong in scientific research. The Nature Index 2023 ranked it as the 14th best university in the Asia Pacific region for research. It was also ranked 33rd in the world among all global universities for its research output.

The former library, which is also seen in the university's logo.

This building holds the president's office.

The School of Law building.

The building for the College of Chinese Language and Literature and School of History.

The School of Economics and Management.

The College of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Campus Life

Wuhan University has a beautiful campus. It is located near the scenic Luojia Hill and the lovely East Lake. The campus has many trees and green spaces, with flowers blooming all year.

A map of Wuhan University campus (not including the Medical Campus).

The university is famous for its cherry blossom garden. Every spring, a cherry blossom festival is held, attracting many visitors.

Many of the stylish old buildings were designed by F. H. Kales. He was good at mixing Western building styles with traditional Chinese designs, especially in the roofs.

The campus covers a huge area, about 5.5 square kilometers. The university's libraries have a collection of about 5.4 million books and subscribe to over 10,000 different magazines and journals.

Cherry blossoms blooming at Wuhan University.

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  Luojia Hill (Luojiashan)

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  Former School of Science

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  Administration Building, Former School of Engineering

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  Former Dorm for male students

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  Wuhan's blue roof tiles

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  2nd Classroom Building

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  3rd Classroom Building

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  Former Law School Building

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  Student Club

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  Student Union and Debate Team

Working with Others

Wuhan University works with over 300 universities and research centers in more than 40 countries.

• The School of Information Management at Wuhan University signed an agreement with the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Denmark in 2009.
• Wuhan University also worked with Duke University and the city of Kunshan to create Duke Kunshan University.

Famous Alumni

Many successful people have graduated from Wuhan University. As of 2017, at least 29 billionaires had graduated from the university.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Wuhan para niños