Xi'an Jiaotong University

Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) is a public, comprehensive research university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It is directly affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China and is one of the country's nationally prioritized universities. The institution is a member of the C9 League, China's group of research-intensive universities, and has been included in the former Project 211 and Project 985 programs as well as the current Double First-Class Construction initiative. The university traces its institutional lineage to Nanyang Public School, established in Shanghai in 1896 under the sponsorship of Sheng Xuanhuai. The institution went through several reorganizations and name changes before becoming part of Jiaotong University. In the 1950s, the central government directed the relocation of the Shanghai-based university's main educational and research capacity to Xi'an as part of a national effort to strengthen higher education and industrial development in western China. Faculty, students, laboratories, and academic programs moved in stages beginning in 1956. In 1959, the Xi'an and Shanghai sections were formally established as separate universities, with the Xi'an institution taking the name Xi'an Jiaotong University. XJTU's academic scope spans engineering, science, medicine, economics, management, humanities, law, philosophy, education, and the arts. Its historic strengths include electrical engineering, energy and power engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering thermophysics, materials, automation, information technology, medicine, and management. The university combines undergraduate education with master's and doctoral training, continuing education, professional programs, hospitals, laboratories, research institutes, and technology-transfer activities. A defining element of the university's identity is the spirit of the westward migration, commonly associated with the commitment of faculty and students who moved from Shanghai to Xi'an and built a major research university in the interior. The institution presents this legacy through a mission centered on serving national needs, supporting western development, cultivating technically capable and socially responsible graduates, and connecting research with industrial and public priorities. Its motto is commonly rendered in English as “Diligently study, earnestly aspire; resolutely act, faithfully serve.” The university is also positioned as a platform for advanced research and innovation. Its laboratories and faculty have contributed to national scientific programs and to fields including energy systems, electrical technology, biomedical engineering, robotics, advanced manufacturing, information science, and medicine. In the 2020s, XJTU has emphasized innovation-driven development, entrepreneurship education, technology commercialization, international collaboration, and stronger links between university research and regional industry. Alumni and faculty have also contributed to technology companies and research-based enterprises in the Xi'an innovation ecosystem. XJTU's public-facing identity has traditionally emphasized academic rigor, engineering capability, national service, and institutional heritage. Its 2023 undergraduate admissions campaign attracted attention for using humorous, internet-native language rather than a conventional formal university-promotion style. The campaign helped present the university as both academically serious and culturally approachable, especially to younger prospective students. Despite such contemporary communications, the core brand remains that of an elite public research university with a strong engineering tradition, a large multidisciplinary platform, and a distinctive historical commitment to western China.

Xi'an Jiaotong University's institutional history begins with Nanyang Public School, founded in Shanghai in 1896. The school was established during the late Qing period in response to the perceived need for modern technical and administrative education. Sheng Xuanhuai, an official and industrialist associated with the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company and the Imperial Telegraph Administration, played the central founding role. The school initially combined preparatory, teacher-training, and advanced programs and was intended to support national strengthening through practical learning. During the first decades of the twentieth century, the institution underwent repeated reorganizations as education administration changed. It became associated with the development of modern technical education in China and was later incorporated into the broader Jiaotong University system. The university's historical identity developed around engineering, transport, communications, applied science, and management, although its academic scope gradually expanded. In 1955, the central government decided that Jiaotong University should relocate its principal base from Shanghai to Xi'an. The decision reflected a national strategy to develop heavy industry, scientific capacity, and higher education in China's interior. Beginning in 1956, faculty members, students, equipment, books, and laboratories moved westward in stages. The relocation was a major institutional undertaking: staff and students had to establish academic programs and research facilities in a city whose higher-education and industrial infrastructure was still developing. The experience became a central part of the university's institutional memory and is now associated with the “Westward Migration Spirit,” emphasizing national needs, dedication, teamwork, and a willingness to work where the country required expertise. In 1959, the Xi'an and Shanghai sections of Jiaotong University were formally separated and independently established. The Xi'an institution adopted the name Xi'an Jiaotong University and was selected as one of the country's sixteen key universities. It subsequently became part of major national development programs, including the Seventh and Eighth Five-Year Plan priorities, Project 211, Project 985, and later the Double First-Class Construction initiative. The university also joined the C9 League, strengthening its position among China's leading research universities. The post-relocation university developed particular strength in electrical engineering, energy and power engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering thermophysics, materials, automation, and related industrial disciplines. Research institutes and laboratories were created to support national industrialization, energy development, advanced equipment, and scientific education. Faculty members such as electrical-engineering educator Zhong Zhaolin and engineering-thermophysics scholar Chen Xuejun are associated with the effort to establish durable teaching and research foundations in Xi'an. The institution later expanded into medicine, economics, management, humanities, law, information science, and other areas, becoming a comprehensive university rather than a narrowly technical institution. XJTU's medical development includes affiliated hospitals and education in clinical medicine and biomedical fields. Its management and business programs also grew through institutional integration and the development of specialized departments. For example, the university's marketing discipline incorporated faculty and academic resources from the former Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics following a 2000 merger, creating a broader management-education platform that supports undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and executive programs. From the 2010s onward, the university placed greater emphasis on institutional reform, research organization, innovation, entrepreneurship, international cooperation, and links with local government and industry. Wang Shuguo served as president from 2014 to 2024, a period associated in public commentary with efforts to strengthen the university's research profile, modernize governance, expand the Western China Science and Technology Innovation Harbor, and reinforce the institution's public identity around national service and innovation. Zhang Liqun became president in March 2024. The university's current public communications continue to connect education, scientific research, talent development, technology transfer, and regional economic development. The university's role in the Xi'an innovation ecosystem has become increasingly visible. Alumni and faculty have participated in technology ventures in robotics, biomedical science, advanced manufacturing, and other fields. These links do not make the university a commercial company, but they demonstrate its broader brand function as an education, research, and innovation institution. Its enduring distinction is the combination of a 1896 origin, the historic relocation from Shanghai to Xi'an, elite national research-university status, engineering depth, multidisciplinary expansion, and a continuing commitment to western China and national development.

• 2024

  Zhang Liqun becomes president

  [2]Ministry of Education announcement on Zhang Liqun's appointmentmoe.gov.cn

  The Ministry of Education announces Zhang Liqun as president and deputy Party secretary, succeeding Wang Shuguo.

• 2023

  Humorous admissions campaign attracts attention

  [5]Digitaling report on the 2023 admissions campaigndigitaling.com

  A short admissions film uses parody, colloquial language, and online cultural references to present the university to prospective students.

• 2014

  Wang Shuguo becomes president

  [10]Wang Shuguo becomes presidentzh.wikipedia.org

  Wang Shuguo begins a decade-long term as president, during which the university emphasizes reform, innovation, and major research and campus-development initiatives.

• 2000

  Merger expands management education

  [4]Xi'an Jiaotong University official marketing department profilesom.xjtu.edu.cn

  The university incorporates resources from the former Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics, supporting the development of its management and business disciplines.

• 1959

  Xi'an Jiaotong University is established as an independent institution

  [3]Xi'an Jiaotong University article on its history and institutional developmentzh.wikipedia.org

  The Xi'an section of Jiaotong University is formally separated and named Xi'an Jiaotong University.

• 1956

  Westward migration begins

  [6]Xinhuanet report on Xi'an Jiaotong University's westward-migration legacynews.cn

  Faculty, students, equipment, and academic resources begin moving to Xi'an, laying the foundations for the university's western campus and research system.

• 1955

  Relocation to Xi'an is decided

  [6]Xinhuanet report on Xi'an Jiaotong University's westward-migration legacynews.cn

  The central government decides to move Jiaotong University's principal educational and research base from Shanghai to Xi'an.

• 1921

  The institution becomes part of Jiaotong University

  [3]Xi'an Jiaotong University article on its history and institutional developmentzh.wikipedia.org

  The Shanghai institution adopts the Jiaotong University identity during a period of consolidation of China's modern technical schools.

• 1896

  Nanyang Public School is founded

  [3]Xi'an Jiaotong University article on its history and institutional developmentzh.wikipedia.org

  Sheng Xuanhuai establishes Nanyang Public School in Shanghai, creating the institutional predecessor of the modern university.

An elite, nationally significant public research university combining a historic engineering tradition with multidisciplinary education, advanced research, medical training, and a mission of serving China's western development and national strategic priorities.

• Higher education

  Undergraduate education

  XJTU offers undergraduate study across engineering, science, medicine, economics, management, humanities, law, philosophy, education, and the arts. Its undergraduate brand is particularly associated with rigorous technical training, multidisciplinary study, and preparation for research, public service, and industry.

• Higher education

  Graduate and doctoral education

  Master's and doctoral programs form a central part of the university's research identity. Programs combine disciplinary coursework, laboratory work, supervised research, and participation in national and international research projects.

• Research and education

  Engineering and energy research

  The university maintains longstanding strengths in electrical engineering, energy and power engineering, engineering thermophysics, mechanical engineering, automation, and related fields. These areas reflect its historical role in China's industrial and energy development.

• Medical education

  Medical education and affiliated hospitals

  XJTU provides medical education, clinical training, biomedical research, and affiliated-hospital services. Medicine also connects with engineering through biomedical engineering, medical robotics, imaging, and other interdisciplinary areas.

• Business education

  Management and professional education

  The university's management platform supports undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, MBA, EMBA, MEM, MPAcc, executive, and related professional programs. Academic areas include marketing, finance, accounting, information systems, operations, organization, strategy, and innovation.

• Research commercialization

  Technology transfer and innovation incubation

  Through laboratories, research institutes, industry partnerships, and entrepreneurship programs, XJTU supports the movement of scientific results from university research into practical technologies, enterprises, and regional innovation projects.

• 2011

  Li Liansheng's award-winning project stripped of national science and technology award for plagiarism and false data

  In 2011, the Ministry of Science and Technology revoked the 2005 National Science and Technology Progress Award, Second Prize, from a project related to former Xi'an Jiaotong University professor Li Liansheng because the recommendation materials contained serious plagiarism in representative works and false economic benefit data. This entry is limited to the project and personnel involved.

  Source

Read more

• 2023Xi'an Jiaotong University 2023 Admissions Film

  China · Prospective students and families

  The university released a short admissions video that deliberately departed from the formal tone commonly used in higher-education promotion. It used parody sales language, internet slang, local references to Xi'an food and culture, and exaggerated promotional framing to introduce the campus, faculty, resources, and admissions proposition. The creative approach portrayed the university as academically accomplished but also humorous and approachable.

  Outcome. The film was widely shared online and received positive attention for giving a prestigious university a more contemporary and personable public voice.

  Source

• 2024

  Change in university presidencyOther

  Background

  After Wang Shuguo's term as president, the Ministry of Education announced a new leadership arrangement.

  Action taken

  Zhang Liqun was appointed president and deputy Communist Party secretary, while Wang Shuguo left those positions.

  Aftermath

  The appointment continued the university's leadership transition and placed an academician with experience at major Chinese universities at its head.

  Source

• 1959

  Establish Xi'an Jiaotong University as an independent universityStrategy

  Background

  The distance between the Shanghai and Xi'an sections made unified administration difficult, while both sections had developed substantial educational and research capacity.

  Action taken

  The two sections were formally separated, with the Xi'an section taking the name Xi'an Jiaotong University.

  Aftermath

  The university developed independently in Xi'an while retaining the historical lineage and reputation of Jiaotong University.

  Source

• 1955

  Move the university's principal base to Xi'anStrategy

  Background

  National industrialization policy called for stronger scientific and higher-education capacity in western China.

  Action taken

  The government directed Jiaotong University's educational and research resources to relocate from Shanghai to Xi'an in stages.

  Aftermath

  The relocation created the institutional foundation of modern Xi'an Jiaotong University and became central to its identity and mission.

  Source

1. 1Xi'an Jiaotong University official leadership pagexjtu.edu.cn
2. 2Ministry of Education announcement on Zhang Liqun's appointmentmoe.gov.cn
3. 3Xi'an Jiaotong University article on its history and institutional developmentzh.wikipedia.org
4. 4Xi'an Jiaotong University official marketing department profilesom.xjtu.edu.cn
5. 5Digitaling report on the 2023 admissions campaigndigitaling.com
6. 6Xinhuanet report on Xi'an Jiaotong University's westward-migration legacynews.cn
7. 7西安交通大学官网首页xjtu.edu.cn
8. 8交大简介-西安交通大学xjtu.edu.cn
9. 9Xi'an Jiaotong University - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
10. 10Wang Shuguo becomes presidentzh.wikipedia.org
11. 11Li Liansheng's award-winning project stripped of national science and technology award for plagiarism and false datashb.cas.cn