It is arguable if Hunan University is the oldest University of China. There is no official recognision of this alleged status. The Yuelu Academy is kind of a private institute, more like that of Athen, which has no degree-granting mechanism, and other features of a modern university.

Even since 2,000 years ago in Han Dynasty, the central government has set up a kind of royal academy, which has been maintained for all the years followed. Beijing University was the last royal academy as well as a modern university. Many people think Beijing University can trace its root in the first royal academy in Han Dynasty, but apparetly, this argument is too sound. So do the so-called Yuelu Academy.

Hunan University (湖南大学), located in Changsha, Hunan, is one of the most important universities of the People's Republic of China. It tracks its history back over 1,000 years to the Yuelu Academy founded in the Song Dynasty. The university is organised into 18 departments. Most of the under- and postgraduate courses as well as much of the research is concentrated on engineering of some form. Hunan University is among China’s top universities when it comes to the number of research articles published in international academic journals. In addition, the university has won more than 500 national awards. In CE 2000 the university merged with the Hunan Financial and Economic College and in 2002 with the Hunan Computer College. Changsha (Simplified Chinese: 长沙; Traditional Chinese: 長沙; pinyin: Ch ng shā; Wade-Giles: Chang-sha) is the capital of Hunan, a province of Southcentral China, located on the lower reaches of Xiangjiang river, a branch of Chang Jiang. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Hainan and Henan Hunan (湖南; pinyin: Húnán) is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of the Dongting Lake (hence the name Hunan, meaning south of the lake). Hunan is sometimes called... Roof of Yuelu academy The Yuelu Academy (also as known as the Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning, S.Chinese: 岳麓书院, T.Chinese: 嶽麓書院, pinyin: yuè lǔ shū yuàn) is located on the east side of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, China, on the west bank of... Alternative meaning: Song Dynasty (420-479) The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... Engineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are two campus in Hunan University, Science department students in the south campus which is a main campus,Liberal arts students in the north campus.

Address

Hunan University
Yuelu district, Changsha
410082 China

External links

• Hunan University, also in English (http://www.hunu.edu.cn/)
• University history (http://rsc.hnu.net.cn/English/abouthnu.htm)