Xi'an Jiaotong University

On April 8, 2026, Xi’an Jiaotong University celebrated its 130th founding anniversary and the 70th anniversary of its westward relocation with a series of commemorative events including the release of a promotional film “A Path Spanning 130 Years.” This milestone underscored XJTU’s enduring legacy, its contributions to education and innovation, and its historic strategic significance in China’s higher education landscape.

On September 9, 2019, Xi’an Jiaotong University launched the XJTU‑POLIMI Joint School in partnership with the Polytechnic University of Milan. This joint institution offers dual-degree programs with a strong emphasis on engineering and design, representing a key milestone in XJTU’s international academic cooperation.

In 2015, Xi’an Jiaotong University initiated and became the hub of the University Alliance of the Silk Road under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This alliance fostered international academic collaboration among universities along the Silk Road Economic Belt, amplifying XJTU’s global engagement and regional academic leadership.

By 2004 (some sources note 2000–2004), XJTU had consolidated its position as a comprehensive university through inclusion of Xi’an Medical University and Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics, as well as being among the first institutions selected under China’s “Seventh and Eighth Five‑Year Plans”, Project 211 and Project 985, marking its elevation toward world‑class status.

In 2001, Xi’an Jiaotong University founded its Internet Education School as one of 15 experimental universities approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education for distance learning. The school pioneered projects such as real‑time teaching systems and virtual collaborative learning, establishing XJTU’s role in educational innovation and e‑learning research.

In April 2000, with State Council approval, Xi’an Jiaotong University merged with Xi’an Medical University and the Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics. This merger significantly expanded the university’s academic scope to include medicine and finance, reinforcing its comprehensive research strengths and elevating its national prominence.

In 1985, Xi’an Jiaotong University established its Honors Youth Program (also known as the Special Class for the Gifted Young). This selective program admits dozens of high‑school freshmen annually, enabling them to begin university coursework early and potentially skip national entrance examinations, reflecting XJTU’s innovation in cultivating exceptional talent.

On July 31, 1959, the Xi’an campus of Jiaotong University officially became independent and was renamed Xi’an Jiaotong University, following approval by the State Council. Simultaneously, the Shanghai campus became Shanghai Jiao Tong University. From then on, Xi’an Jiaotong University emerged as a National Key University, marking a new chapter in its institutional identity and regional focus.

In 1956, the Chinese State Council decided to relocate the main body of Jiaotong University from Shanghai to Xi’an, Shaanxi, as part of the national strategy to develop Western China. This strategic relocation underscored the university’s new role as a key institution serving the inland regions and promoting balanced regional development.

In 1921, Nanyang Public School was renamed Jiaotong University by the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of China. This renaming reflected its evolution into a cohesive technological institution, consolidating scattered technical colleges into a unified university that would later split into several institutions including Xi’an Jiaotong University, reinforcing its status in Chinese higher education.

In 1896, under an imperial edict issued by the Guangxu Emperor, Nanyang Public School (南洋公学) was established in Shanghai under the Qing dynasty’s Business and Telegraphs Office. This founding marked the birth of what would eventually evolve into Xi’an Jiaotong University. The institution included a normal school, foreign studies school, middle school, and high school, and was proposed and led by Sheng Xuanhuai and missionary educator John Calvin Ferguson, laying the foundation for modern Chinese higher education.