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Yan’an University is the first comprehensive university established by the Communist Party of China. It was named by Mao Zedong himself, and is located in the sacred capital of Chinese revolution, Yan’an City. In September of 1941 Mao Zedong established Yan’an University by merging the Shanbei Public School with the Woman’s University of China, the Zedong School of Young Cadres, the Yanan School of Natural Sciences, the School of Nationalities, the Shanganning Border Region School of Administration and the Xinwenzi Cadre School. Through the Shanbei Public School, the history of Yanan University dates back to 1937. This year celebrates the 70th year for the university.
During the hard years of war Yan’an University managed to implement the guideline of “making use of what one has learned” and trained large numbers of special talents,  contributing greatly to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Revolution. These contributions give Yan’an University an important and special historical position in the history of higher education of the new China. Since its establishment 70 years ago, leaders of the Party and social circles have paid close attention to Yan’an University. Mao Zedong chose the name of the university in person and visited the university many times for the opening ceremonies and to give speeches. After the foundation of new China, many leaders of the Party inspected the university, including Peng Dehuai, Ye Jianying, Chen Yi and Guo Moruo. In his busy work, Zhou Enlai gave instruction on the expansion and improvement of construction of the university. In 1988, former Premier Li Peng listed construction of the university as a priority of the “Eighth Five-year Plan” of the country. In 1998, Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and other former national leaders visited for the university’s 60th anniversary. In 2004, the new leaders focused on the construction and development of Yan’an University, President Hu Jintao visited to show his support. State Councilor Chen Zhili and Minister of Education Zhou Ji attached great importance to the instruction and advised that the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, together with the Ministry of Education, jointly administer development of Yan’an University.
With hard work of nearly seventy years, Yanan University has developed into a comprehensive university of liberal arts, science, engineering, administration, medicine, education and law. The university is jointly administered by the Ministry of Education and Shaanxi Province. Today the university has 17 schools, including School of Medicine, School of Chinese Language, Literature and Mass Media, School of Politics and Law, School of Foreign Languages, School of Economics and Management, School of  Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Physics and Electrical Engineering, School of Luxun Arts, School of Physical Education, School of Mathematics and Computer Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Life Science, School of Education Science, School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, School of Continuing Education, School of Applied Technology and the Innovation College, an independent college in Xian. Among these schools there are 28 postgraduate programs, 50 undergraduate programs, with a student enrollment of 23,000 and a faculty of 700 (including over 400 professors). The school library houses over 1 million books and over 3,000 journals from home and abroad. The university is over 1,400mu in size and has over 600,000m2 in building space. Today the university has two Key Disciplines of the Province, 5 research institutes and over 20 research sections
For the past 70 years, Yanan University has grown from the cave home and has trained over 100,000 excellent cadres and professionals for the party and the country. More than 30 leaders of the party and the state, 200 leaders of the province, and 10 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering have studied here. A large number of men of letters, artists and educators were trained here. Yan’an University is also the birthplace of higher education of new China. Over 10 prestigious colleges and universities in China originated here, including Renmin University of China, Beijing Institute of Technology, and Northeast Normal University. Yan’an University has made great contributions to national and local economic construction and social development.
Yan’an University has been adhering to the guiding principle of “teacher basis and talents first” and “emphasizing teaching and strengthening research”. In recent years the university has put emphasis on faculty training and improvement of education quality and has  attained great achievements. Since 1996, Yan’an University has had the highest passing rate of students in the provincial public servant qualification examination. The university has been awarded over 10 national and provincial prizes for excellent achievements in teaching. Over 20,000 research papers have been published in learned journals or presented at conferences at home and abroad. Over 650 monographs have been published. Over 1,500 research projects have been finished, of which 52 have passed provincial or ministerial appraisals, 17 have been patented, and 141 have been awarded national, ministerial or provincial prizes.
Yan’an University is also the Best Unit of China in Military Training of College Students, the Best Unit of China in Campus Beautification, Revolutionary Tradition Education Base for Youth, Quality Education Base for Chinese College Students and Patriotism Education Base of Shaanxi Province.
Yan’an University is nestled in the mountainside, next to the Yanhe River, with grasslands, evergreen plants, pavilions and porches everywhere on campus. It also features the unique contrast of cave houses beside modern buildings as well as statues of the first president Wu Yuzhang, and the well-known writer Lu Yao. In the new century, Yan’an University will continue to work hard, to grasping all opportunities and facing all challenges, in an effort to accelerate it’s development and be known world-wide as a university with traditional heritages and modern features.
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