Xiangnan University is the only public full-time comprehensive undergraduate institution in Chenzhou, a national historical and cultural city and an old revolutionary base area.

Chenzhou, known as the “southern gate” of Hunan Province, is one of the birthplaces of agricultural culture, the place where the “Xiangnan Uprising” happened, the place where the First Military Regulations was promulgated, the place where the story “Half a Quilt” occurred, and the place where the training base of the Chinese women volleyball team is located, with a convenient high-speed rail-road-air transportation network.

The university, formerly known as the Hunan Provincial Third Women’s Normal University established in 1912, has a long history. It has cultivated many revolutionary fighters and women heroes such as Mao Zejian, Wu Ruolan, He Baozhen, Xia Mingheng, and Zeng Zhi.

In 2003, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, the former Chenzhou Teachers’ College, Chenzhou Medical College, Chenzhou Education Institute, and Chenzhou Normal University merged to form the Xiangnan University.

For over a hundred years of operation and more than twenty years of undergraduate education, the university has trained more than 210,000 outstanding talents for the country and society.

In 2013, it passed the qualification evaluation of undergraduate teaching work by the Ministry of Education. In 2018, it was identified as a newly established construction unit for granting master’s degrees. In 2019, it passed the review and evaluation of undergraduate teaching work by the Ministry of Education.

The university is a national-level language and writing standardization demonstration school, a national health school construction unit, a green school creation demonstration unit in Hunan Province, a safety construction demonstration school in Hunan Province, and a civilized model campus in Hunan Province.

The university covers an area of 1,713 mu (about 114.2 hectares), and is divided into Wangxian and Beihu campuses. The campus is beautiful and the scenery is pleasant, making it an ideal place for studying.

It currently has 18 secondary colleges and 53 undergraduate majors, including 6 national-level “Double Ten-thousand Plan” first-class undergraduate major construction points, 3 national-level reform pilot and characteristic majors, 2 majors certified by the Ministry of Education, 22 provincial-level “Double Ten-thousand Plan” first-class undergraduate major construction points, and 9 provincial-level reform pilot and characteristic majors, covering 9 disciplines such as economics, law, education, literature, medicine, management, and art.

There are 7 provincial-level key construction disciplines and applied characteristic disciplines. Clinical medicine, pharmacy, mathematics, and Marxist theory are applied characteristic disciplines of Hunan Province during the 14th Five-year Plan period. There are 7 affiliated hospitals, including 3 directly affiliated hospitals, 2 of which are national comprehensive Grade 3A hospitals.

The university recruits students from 28 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country. Currently, there are 23,053 full-time undergraduate students, 1,296 full-time teachers at the main campus, and 898 clinical teachers at affiliated hospitals.

Among them, there are 552 professors, 1,119 associate professors, and 529 teachers with doctoral degrees.

Among the teachers, there are nearly 100 provincial-level and above talents, including experts who enjoy special government allowances from the State Council, national outstanding teachers, second-level professors, and “Furong Teaching Masters”. There are also nearly 200 part-time doctoral and master’s supervisors.

The university adheres to the principles of moral education and comprehensive development, and emphasizes the cultivation of students’ innovation and practical abilities. It is committed to cultivating a new generation with correct values and good conduct.

In the past five years, students have participated in various subject competitions and won 1,757 awards at or above the provincial level, including 56 at the national level.

The university is an excellent unit for the employment work of ordinary universities in Hunan Province. In recent years, the employment rate of graduates has ranked among the top in the province, and employers are 100% satisfied with its graduates.

The university attaches great importance to excellent undergraduate education and deepens educational and teaching reforms. There are 4 national-level first-class undergraduate and demonstration courses, 70 provincial-level first-class undergraduate and demonstration courses, 10 national and provincial-level teaching master teams, and excellent teaching teams, 1 provincial-level course ideological and political demonstration center, and 21 provincial and municipal-level clinical key specialty construction projects.

In the past 5 years, it has conducted over 198 provincial-level and above teaching and research projects, won 10 provincial-level teaching achievement awards, and 60 national and provincial-level teaching competition awards, and edited 106 textbooks.

There are 58 provincial-level practical teaching platforms, like demonstration industry college, basic course demonstration laboratory, practical teaching demonstration center, virtual simulation experimental teaching center, university-enterprise cooperation innovation and entrepreneurship education base, university-enterprise cooperation talent training demonstration base, innovation and entrepreneurship education center, college student innovation training center, health education science popularization base, and excellent internship teaching base.

The university is committed to serving local development through scientific research and innovation based on social needs. There are currently three national-level teaching and research platforms, such as the National Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for High-throughput Molecular Diagnostic Technology (Hunan), and the Stroke Screening and Prevention Base of the Ministry of Health, two national standardized training bases for resident physicians, two national drug clinical trial institutions, two collaborative research and development centers for postdoctoral workstations, 12 provincial-level key laboratories, like the Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Artificial Intelligence, the Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Advanced Embedded Computing Technology and Intelligent Medical Systems, and the Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rare and Precious Metal Compounds and Their Applications, and 7 provincial-level social science platforms, such as the Theory System Research Base in Hunan Province for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and the Lifelong Education Research Base.

In the past 5 years, it has won 11 scientific research achievement awards above the ministerial and provincial levels, implemented 34 national-level scientific research projects, and 390 ministerial and provincial-level scientific research projects, obtained 1,241 crossing research projects, published more than 6,950 high-level academic papers and 86 monographs, and got 530 patents.

The “Xiangnan University Journal” is an “Excellent Social Science Journal of National Universities”, and “Chenzhou Zongheng” is a brand column of the “Famous Journal Development Plan” of the Hunan Provincial Department of Education.

The university focuses on open education and actively promotes internationalization of education. It has established extensive cooperation relationships with over 30 universities in more than 10 countries or regions, including the United States, Australia, Hungary, Russia, Singapore, and Macao, in such fields as cooperative education, scientific research and academic cooperation, and personnel exchanges.

It adheres to the new concept of integrating vocational education and general education, industry and education, and science and education to educate students. It has established close ties with more than 300 renowned enterprises, research institutes, and industrial parks at home and abroad, especially those from Chenzhou and its surrounding counties, cities, and districts, to deepen cooperation and jointly educate students.