Xiangtan University, located in Xiangtan City, the home town of Mao Zedong, is a comprehensive university operating under the joint support of the Hunan Provincial Government and the Ministry of Education. It is one of China’s first educational institutes authorized to award master’s degree and is also among the earliest schools approved to enroll overseas students and students of national defense. In an evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Education, the university’s bachelor degree education was rated as excellent.

The university was established in 1958 as a result of Chairman Mao’s proposal. On September 10th of the same year, Chairman Mao himself wrote the name of the school and enjoined the authorities to work hard to make a success of it. Thanks to the concern and care by Deng Xiaoping, Hua Guofeng, Li Xiannian and other government leaders, the university kept growing and was thus approved by the State Council as a key state university in 1978. In 1998, on the fortieth anniversary of the school’s founding, ex-President Jiang Zemin wrote: “Work for a better Xiangtan University, train competent graduates and make more contribution.” On December 17th, 2005, the Ministry of Education and the Hunan Provincial Government signed a treaty agreeing to provide joint financial support to the university.