Listen to this articleSun Yat-sen University(中山大学：Zhōnɡshān Dàxué) is located in Guangdong Province, the frontal of reform and opening. At present the University has 4 campuses with a total area of 6.17 square kilometers sitting respectively on both sides of the Pearl River or facing the South China Sea(中国南海：Zhōnɡɡuó Nánhǎi). The Guangzhou South Campus covers an area of 1.17 square kilometers, the North Campus covers an area of 0.39 square kilometers, and the Zhuhai Campus covers an area of 3.48 square kilometers. All campuses have exuberance of green trees, abundance of lawns and beautiful sceneries, and are ideal for molding the temperaments, studying and doing research. The Guangzhou East Campus has an area of 1.13 square kilometers and is now under construction.
Sun Yat-sen University is a name-brand institution of higher education with fine traditions in teaching and learning. In 1924, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, great leader of the 20th century, founded this university personally, and inscribed in his own handwriting the school motto of “Study extensively; Enquire accurately; Reflect carefully; Discriminate clearly; Practice earnestly.” The school was originally named Guangdong University, and later renamed Sun Yat-sen University in 1926. In the 1930s, there were seven schools in the University, which were the Schools of Arts, Sciences, Law, Engineering, Agricultural Studies, Medicine and Education. In 1935, the University set up the Graduate School and began to enroll graduate students. In the 1950s, the colleges, schools and departments were readjusted nationwide, and Sun Yat-sen University became a comprehensive university with the liberal arts and sciences as its backbone disciplines. Since the founding of the new China, Sun Yat-sen University has always been one of national key universities, and is also among the first batch of institutes to award Doctorate and Master degrees and to establish post-doctoral research flowing stations in our country. Approved by the State Council, the university was the first to set up graduate school in the South China area in the early 1990s, thus offering a complete range of degrees from the bachelor, master to doctorate.
The University has been inceasingly raising the quality of undergraduate education and has become an important base for training high-level talents. On the occasion of its 70th anniversary, President Jiang Zemin wrote the inscription of “Develop Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary spirit, manage the University better and make greater contributions” which further points out the direction for running schools. In September 2000, the Zhuhai Campus of Sun Yat-sen University in Tang Jia Wan, Zhuhai city, was completed, which expands the space and lays a solid foundation for development in the new century. On October 26, 2001, Sun Yat-sen University and the Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Science were merged to form the new Sun Yat-sen University. The Ministry of Education and the government of Guangdong Province signed an agreement, both promising to invest 1.2 billion RMB in 3 years to build the new Sun Yat-sen University into a first class university with high academic standards.
