Best universities in China

Six universities are ranked the best in China according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The ARWU is published by the Institute of Higher Education at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and several indicators of academic or research performance are used to establish the ranking, these include highly cited researchers, articles indexed in major citaton indices and staff winning Nobel Prizes.

There are 18 Chinese universities in the Word’s Top-500 universities. The Top-6 universities in China are: Peking University; Shanghai Jiao Tong University; University of Science and Technology of China; Zheijang University; Nanjing University and Tsinghua University. All six universities are ranked 201-302 in the world according to ARWU.

Two of the six universities are located in Peking (Peking University and Tsinghua University) and one in Shanghai (Shanghai Jiao Tong University). The oldest university was established in 1896(Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and the youngest in 1958 (University of Science and Technology of China). The smallest of the six universities is the University of Science and Technology of China with 16,588 students (7,667 undergraduates and 8,921 postgraduates).

Peking University colloquially known in Chinese as Beida, is a major research university located in Beijing, China. It is the first formally established modern research university in and the first national university of China. It was founded as Imperial Capital University in 1898.

Zhejiang University sometimes referred to as Zheda, is a national university in China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education.

Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang”. The school was renamed the "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925 and the name “National Tsinghua University” adopted in 1928. With a motto of Self-Discipline and Social Commitment and in the spirit of the Latin Facta Non Verba, Tsinghua University is dedicated to academic excellence, the well-being of Chinese society and to global development.Today, most national and international rankings place Tsinghua as one of the best universities in China.