Former Site of University of Nanking

Former Site of University of Nanking

The former site of University of Nanking is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former site of University of Nanking is located at No. 22 Hankou Road.

In 1910, two mission schools—Huiwen Academy and Hongyu Academy, both founded by American missionaries—merged to form University of Nanking (also known as Nanking University). Soon after, the American church raised funds to purchase 2,340 acres of land on the southwestern slope of Drum Tower and began constructing new campus buildings. By 1926, the university had achieved a certain scale. In 1951, the university merged with Ginling College and became a public institution under the name Nanking University. In 1952, the liberal arts and science colleges of Nanking University were incorporated into Nanjing University, forming the new Nanjing University.

The architectural complex of the former site of University of Nanking includes 11 buildings: the East Building, Southeast Building, North Building, West Building, the Small Auditorium, the Chapel, the Library (now a museum), and four dormitory buildings (Buildings Jia-Yi, Bing-Ding, Wu-Ji & Geng, Xin-Ren), covering a total construction area of about 20,000 square meters. All buildings feature blue brick walls, hip-and-gable roofs covered with gray tubular tiles, and are designed with rigorous symmetry, deep structures, and relatively small windows—giving an impression of solidity and solemnity that reflects characteristics of official northern Chinese architecture. The University of Nanking adopted the style of official northern Chinese architecture as its foundation, arranging its main structures along a central north-south axis, with geometrically arranged green spaces and squares situated between the buildings.

Nanjing University not only boasts a long history but also a glorious revolutionary tradition. In the early 1920s, the Second National Congress of the Chinese Socialist Youth League was held here. In September 1934, faculty and students of University of Nanking initiated a fundraising campaign, and in August 1935, a 1,700-yuan steel flagpole was erected south of the campus chapel (it has since been relocated to the lawn south of the main athletic field). Standing over 40 meters tall, the fluttering national flag soared higher than the Rising Sun flag flying at the nearby Japanese consulate in China—a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people. During the War of Resistance against Japan, the “Natural Science Symposium” and “Democracy and Science Symposium,” led by renowned professors from Central University such as Pan Shu, Liang Xi, and Jin Shanbao, upheld the spirits of democracy and science, advocating for unity in resistance and the pursuit of democracy. These groups later evolved into the Jiusan Society, which maintained a relationship of “total commitment and shared honor and disgrace” with the Communist Party of China. During the Liberation War, students of Nanjing University broke through the White Terror and launched the powerful “Anti-Drug Movement” and the May 20th Patriotic Student Movement of “Opposing Hunger, Opposing Civil War, Opposing Persecution.” In these struggles, many brave souls from Nanjing University gave their young lives. In 1982, all faculty and students of Nanjing University contributed to the construction of the “Nanjing University Revolutionary Martyrs Monument” on campus. The back of the monument is inscribed with the biographies of 20 martyrs who sacrificed their lives at Nanjing University.

The architectural complex of the former site of University of Nanking was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council in May 2006.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units