Beijing Jiaotong University Archives

Beijing Jiaotong University Archives

The archival work of Beijing Jiaotong University began in the early days of the university's establishment and has developed alongside the university. In March 1999, as part of an internal management reform, the former Comprehensive Archives Office under the University Office, the Personnel Archives Office under the Personnel Department, and the University History Office were merged to form the Beijing Jiaotong University Archives. It functions as both the administrative department responsible for the university’s archival management and as a scientific-cultural institution dedicated to the permanent preservation and utilization of the university’s archives. In 2001, the Archives Office of Beijing Electric Power College was incorporated into the Beijing Jiaotong University Archives, which received 820 personnel files and 1,710 student files from the college. The current total collection has reached 75,207 volumes. In December 1999, after evaluation by an expert panel, the Beijing Jiaotong University Archives was recognized as a National Second-Class Archives Management Unit.

【Archives Department Structure】The current Archives Department includes sections for Personnel Archives, Comprehensive Archives, Technical Affairs, Historical Research, and the University History Exhibition Hall. The Personnel Archives Office is primarily responsible for managing faculty and staff personnel files and individual student files. The Comprehensive Archives Office provides business guidance, inspection, and acceptance for the archival organization of all university departments. The Technical Office is responsible for the informatization of archives and the development of archival regulations. The Historical Research Office focuses on archival compilation and historical research. The University History Exhibition Hall is dedicated to the display and exhibition of historical materials about the university and serves as a base for educating students and faculty on fine traditions, patriotism, and school pride.

【Archives Facilities】The new building of the Beijing Jiaotong University Archives, Tianyou Hall, is located on the north side of the Fourth Teaching Building. The entire building covers an area of 2,500 square meters, with the first floor housing offices and storage rooms, and the second floor being the University History Exhibition Hall. All archival storage rooms use high-density shelving, and the archival spaces are divided into three functional areas. The comprehensive storage room is 210 square meters, the computerized dense storage holds nearly 270 cubic meters, the personnel archives room is 75 square meters, and the dense storage is 80 cubic meters.

【Archives Collection – General Files】As of 2006, the total collection numbered 75,207 volumes. These include nine categories of archives: personnel, party and government, teaching, research, infrastructure, equipment, financial, photographic, and publications. Specifically, there are 28,204 personnel-related volumes and 45,457 volumes in the comprehensive archives. By category: 18,284 volumes of administrative documents, 8,228 financial records, 1,200 research files, 9,156 graduate student files, 587 undergraduate theses, 159 publications, 114 teaching materials, 1,546 equipment files, 7,328 photographs, 3,095 negatives, 8,107 blueprints, and 4,497 base drawings.

【Archives Collection – General Volumes】As of 2006, the total collection numbered 75,207 volumes. These include nine categories of archives: personnel, party and government, teaching, research, infrastructure, equipment, financial, photographic, and publications. Specifically, there are 28,204 personnel-related volumes and 45,457 volumes in the comprehensive archives. By category: 18,284 volumes of administrative documents, 8,228 financial records, 1,200 research files, 9,156 graduate student files, 587 undergraduate theses, 159 publications, 114 teaching materials, 1,546 equipment files, 7,328 photographs, 3,095 negatives, 8,107 blueprints, and 4,497 base drawings.

【Archives Collection – Physical Items】The physical archives have expanded the range of archival materials, enriched the collection, and included over 200 various gifts from departments such as the Foreign Affairs Office, Library, and President’s Office, along with 209 award certificates, 46 awards, plaques, and medals.

【University History Exhibition】On September 14, 2001, the University History Exhibition hosted by the Beijing Jiaotong University Archives officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In 2005, in preparation for the university’s centennial celebration, the exhibition was redesigned and reorganized. From the exhibition philosophy and content additions to photo selection, captions, plate-making, and hall decoration, every aspect reflected both historical and contemporary elements. The Beijing Jiaotong University History Exhibition chronicles the university’s journey from its founding to its development—from a specialized institute to a multidisciplinary university striving toward becoming a research-oriented institution. It also documents the challenges and hardships faced along the way, as well as the university’s consistent values of rigorous scholarship, emphasis on practice, and unity in striving forward. The exhibition is mainly divided into eight sections: “Founding of the University,” “Formation of Jiaotong University,” “Perseverance Amid Adversity,” “Returning to Peiping and Resuming Classes for a New Beginning,” “A New Era and Exploration of Educational Reform,” “Ten Years of Turmoil and Setting Things Right,” “Reform and Opening Up, Creating New Glories,” and “Proud Alumni, Deep School Ties.” It includes a prologue hall and three exhibition rooms. The prologue hall showcases the common heritage shared by Beijing Jiaotong University and the other three Jiaotong Universities in Shanghai, Xi’an, and Southwest China. Since the establishment of Nanyang Public School in 1896, the common alma mater—Jiaotong University—has nurtured generations of talent and achieved remarkable accomplishments over the past century. The first exhibition room mainly presents the historical aspects, showcasing the challenges and perseverance of the faculty and students from the university’s founding in 1909 through the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1949, returning to Peiping, welcoming liberation, and striving for a new beginning amid the turbulence of Chinese history. The second exhibition room highlights the tremendous changes at the university since the reform and opening up in 1978 up to the present. The third exhibition room introduces some of the renowned experts, professors, and distinguished alumni who have taught at the university over the past century, displaying gifts presented to the university by alumni and related institutions. The three exhibition rooms collectively display over 1,000 photographs and nearly 300 exhibit panels.

【Archives Management】The Archives Department has partially implemented computerized management, establishing an archival catalog database with nearly 40,000 entries. The “Beijing Jiaotong University Archives” website has been created, featuring online exhibitions of university history and calligraphy and painting collections. The Archives Department places great emphasis on the modernization of archival management and currently possesses multiple high-performance computers and automated office equipment. Starting in 2000 with the use of the “Archives Management System,” and upgrading to the “Network Version Archives Management System” in 2006, the department has gradually built a machine-readable catalog database and a photographic archives database. Over 30,000 entries of file-level and volume-level records have been cataloged, enabling preliminary computerized retrieval of the archival collections. Relying on the campus network, preliminary online archiving by university departments has been achieved. The department has also researched and developed archival information resources. Moving forward, further automation and intelligentization of archival file collection, cataloging, and indexing will be realized, along with full electronic file archiving and management. For graduate student academic records, which are large in volume and frequently accessed, a data import method has been adopted for electronic management. Based on the university’s actual situation, directory designs and operational customizations have been implemented for 40 archiving departments, enhancing system security, simplifying operations, and improving efficiency. The department is currently implementing the Ministry of Finance renovation project “Beijing Jiaotong University Archives Informatization Construction.”

【Archival Academic Research】Over the past two decades, archival academic research at Beijing Jiaotong University has been active. The department undertook a major research project commissioned by the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Railways: the 2-million-word “Compilation of the Railway History of China – Lines Volume.” It also led the editing of the “Beijing Jiaotong University Annals” (1896–1996), published by the People’s Railway Publishing House; the “Beijing Jiaotong University Historical Materials” (18 issues), an internal publication; the “History of Chinese Railways” (1976–1949), an internal publication; and the “History of Chinese Railway Education” (1949–2000), specifically the “Railway Education Chapter,” published in September 2007 by Southwest Jiaotong University Press. The department has also produced a series of cultural products about the university, including “Struggle and Progress,” “My Jiaotong,” “The Soul of Chinese Bridges,” and “Beijing-Color Jiaotong.” “Struggle and Progress” and “Beijing-Color Jiaotong” are historical books reflecting the university’s growth from its founding to the year 2000. These took two years to compile, from 2003, involving data collection and writing. “The Soul of Chinese Bridges” has received widespread acclaim for its rich pictorial content, featuring the most comprehensive visual documentation among published series on Mao Yisheng. “My Jiaotong” is a collection of writings by university members about their experiences studying and living at Jiaotong, spanning from the university’s founding to the present, chronicling its century-long journey. The department has also published numerous academic papers in provincial-level journals and major academic conferences.