Guangxi Minzu University

Introduction to Guangxi Minzu University

Guangxi Minzu University is located beside scenic Xiangsi Lake in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi. Its campus is beautiful and tranquil, its architecture traditional and elegant, and its cultural atmosphere rich. With distinctive Zhuang ethnic features and Southeast Asian influences, it was selected by Global Human Geography as one of China’s nine most poetic and picturesque universities.

Founded in 1952 as the Guangxi Branch of the Central Institute for Nationalities (now Minzu University of China), it was renamed Guangxi Provincial Institute for Nationalities in 1953, Guangxi Institute for Nationalities in 1958, and Guangxi Minzu University in 2006. It is jointly developed by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, participates in the national Basic Capacity Building Project for Universities in Central and Western China, and is a priority development university in Guangxi.

The university has three campuses—Xiangsi Lake, Siyuan Lake and Wuming—covering approximately 3600 mu, with 887298 square meters of campus buildings. It has 24 schools, including 1 independent college, covering 11 disciplinary categories: philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, medicine, management and arts. It has 4 first-level disciplines authorized to award doctoral degrees: ethnology, Chinese language and literature, foreign languages and literature, and chemical engineering and technology. It has 16 first-level academic master’s degree authorizations, 3 second-level master’s degree authorizations not covered by first-level authorizations, 13 professional master’s degree categories and 82 regular full-time undergraduate programs. It has established 1 postdoctoral research station and 2 research bases associated with postdoctoral research stations.

The university recruits nationwide and has 24540 full-time students, including 3045 postgraduate students, 19951 undergraduates, 877 junior-college students, 346 preparatory students and 596 international students. At least 47% are ethnic minority students, and the student body includes 52 ethnic groups, such as Zhuang, Han, Miao, Yao and Dong.

The university vigorously pursues an international development strategy. It has substantive exchange and cooperation relationships with 172 universities and institutions in 21 countries and regions, and has jointly established Confucius Institutes with Mahasarakham University in Thailand, the National University of Laos and Tanjungpura University in Indonesia. It is among the first “National Undergraduate Training Bases for Less Commonly Taught Foreign Languages,” a “China-ASEAN Legal Training Base,” a “China-ASEAN Tourism Talent Training and Education Base,” a “Chinese Language Talent Training Center for ASEAN Countries,” an implementing institution for the “Training Program in China for Overseas Chinese Teachers,” a “Key Chinese Institution Supporting Chinese Language Teaching in Neighboring Countries,” a host institution for Chinese Government Scholarship students, an advanced HSK examination center, an examination center for certification of competence in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, a host institution for Confucius Institute Scholarship students, and a training and selection institution for the “International Chinese Language Teacher Volunteer Program.” Thailand’s Ministry of Education has established a Thai language proficiency testing center at the university. Since its founding, it has trained over 20000 international students from 78 countries. ASEAN leaders who have visited include Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihanouk and Prime Minister Hun Sen; Vietnam’s President Tran Duc Luong and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem; Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn; Laos’s Prime Minister Bouasone, National Assembly President Pany Yathotou, Deputy Prime Minister Somdy Douangdy and Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone; and Myanmar’s Vice President Sai Mauk Kham.

Over its long educational history, Guangxi Minzu University has developed the motto “Virtue and Erudition, Harmony in Diversity” and a distinctive identity integrating ethnic, regional and international characteristics. During the 13th Five-Year Plan, following national and Guangxi economic and social development strategies and the needs of ethnic unity and development, it focused on five functions: talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, cultural inheritance and innovation, and international exchange and cooperation. It comprehensively deepened reform, accelerated development based on quality and substance, and continuously improved educational standards, working tirelessly to build a high-level university for nationalities with distinctive strengths.