Below are 13 major Chinese cities with one or two “signature” universities in each city, chosen to show variety. Each university links to its official English page (retrieved 2025‑09‑21).
- Peking University — leading comprehensive research university
- Tsinghua University — engineering and STEM powerhouse
- Fudan University — comprehensive strengths, international programs
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University — engineering and applied sciences leader
- SUSTech — science and entrepreneurship focus
- Shenzhen University — expanding international programs
- Zhejiang University — flagship comprehensive university
- Nanjing University — historic comprehensive strengths
- Southeast University — architecture, civil, electronics
- Xi’an Jiaotong University — engineering, energy and management
- Northwestern Polytechnical University — aerospace and defense engineering
- Sichuan University — comprehensive research, strong medicine
- UESTC — electronics and information engineering
- Tianjin University — historic engineering university
- Nankai University — economics, chemistry, social sciences
- Sun Yat‑sen University — flagship comprehensive university
- South China University of Technology — engineering, materials, design
- Wuhan University — basic sciences, law, earth sciences
- HUST — engineering and medical research center
- Chongqing University — engineering, urban studies, materials
- Southwest University — agriculture, education, applied sciences
- Harbin Institute of Technology — robotics, aerospace, materials
- Harbin Engineering University — naval and marine engineering
- Hunan University — engineering and architecture
- Central South University — materials, metallurgy, clinical medicine
Why these picks matter
Selections combine historic comprehensive universities, technical institutes and rising innovation‑oriented schools, showing how China’s higher education mixes traditional strengths with sectoral, industry‑linked specialization.
How to use this guide
Click university links for official admissions/program information. For applications, compare department pages, faculty profiles and scholarship/visa pages rather than relying on city or brand alone.
Next steps: shortlist cities, then check each university’s admission timelines and scholarship routes. See Comprehensive Application Guide, CSC Scholarship, and the Student Visa Guide.