Former Site of Henan Provincial Women's Normal School

Former Site of Henan Provincial Women's Normal School

The former site of Henan Provincial Women's Normal School is a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

The former site of Henan Women's Normal School is located at No. 64, North Section of Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City (currently the Zhongshan Road Campus of Henan University). Its predecessor was Zhongzhou Girls' School. In April 1907, Li Shican, head of the Henan Educational Affairs Bureau, together with local gentry such as Zheng Sihui, Zhang Jiamou, Yan Yongren, and Li Hongchou, held discussions to establish a girls' school. After being granted approval, it was officially registered under the name “Public Zhongzhou Girls’ School,” with funding supported voluntarily by local officials and gentry. In early 1908, classrooms were rented in civilian houses on Qidao Street. Enrollment began in March, and classes commenced in April, with Li Hongchou serving as the school’s manager, later referred to as the principal. This marked the official beginning of girls' education in Henan Province.

The only remaining structure at the site is a U-shaped building facing east, covering a land area of 618 square meters with a floor space of 1,236 square meters. It features a simple and elegant architectural style, built with a brick-concrete structure. The walls are constructed from blue bricks, and the roof is covered with machine-made red tiles. The building has front porches and columns, arched doors, and gable walls styled as fireproofing gables, all showcasing distinctive architectural characteristics of the Kaifeng region. After the Opium Wars, China began its modernization process, and its education system started a difficult transformation. Kaifeng, the provincial capital of Henan, gradually moved away from traditional educational models and made strides—albeit challenging—toward establishing modern schools. The predecessor of Henan Women’s Normal School, the “Public Zhongzhou Girls’ School,” as the first secondary-level girls’ school in Henan, had pioneering significance in the province, actively promoting the development of girls' education and holding considerable historical value for the study of its evolution.

The surviving architecture of the former Henan Women’s Normal School site is scientifically designed, highly practical, and exemplifies a typical architectural style of the Kaifeng area, offering scientific value for research into the educational architecture of Kaifeng and even Henan Province at the time, as well as the exchange between Chinese and Western architectural cultures. Photo by Liu Haiyong

Address: No. 64, North Section of Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province