Shanghai Jiao Tong University campus tour: Xuhui and Minhang

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, SJTU for short, has two faces. One is a compact, century-old campus of red brick and plane trees in Xujiahui, in the middle of the city. The other is a campus the size of a small town in Minhang, in the south-western suburbs, where most students actually live and study. A visit that takes in only one of them gives half the picture. This guide covers both, with the practical details of getting between them.

A school founded in 1896

The university began in 1896 as Nanyang Public School, set up by the official and industrialist Sheng Xuanhuai to train people for a modernising China. It is one of the oldest universities in the country. The name Jiao Tong, usually translated as "communications" or "transport", dates from the 1920s, when the school came under the ministry responsible for railways, shipping and telegraphs, and engineering has been its core strength ever since.

In the 1950s a large part of the university was moved inland to Xi'an, which is why there is also a Xi'an Jiaotong University with the same origins. Several other universities share the Jiao Tong name for similar reasons.

Xuhui: the original campus

The Xuhui campus is on Huashan Road, a few minutes' walk from the Xujiahui shopping district. Its main gate, built in the style of a Chinese palace gatehouse with red walls, a tiled roof and stone lions, is the university's best-known image.

Inside, the campus is small enough to walk around in an hour:

Zhongyuan, the Middle College, dates from the school's first years and is the oldest building on campus, facing a long lawn.
The old library, finished in 1919, is a red-brick building with a columned porch; it now houses displays on the university's history.
The Engineering Hall, from the early 1930s, shows the plainer, modern style of the Shanghai of that decade.
A maritime museum named after the shipping magnate C. Y. Tung occupies another early building.

Near the lawn stands a monument bearing the four characters of the university's motto, yin shui si yuan: when you drink water, remember its source. Graduates quote it constantly, and a second monument carries it at Minhang.

The Qian Xuesen museum

On the edge of the Xuhui campus, a large block of dark red stone houses the Qian Xuesen Library and Museum. Qian graduated from Jiao Tong in the 1930s, studied and worked in the United States, and returned in the 1950s to lead China's rocket and space programme. The museum tells his story with documents and full-size hardware, and it is generally open to the public; check opening days and whether reservation is needed.

Minhang: the main campus

Since it opened in the 1980s, the Minhang campus has grown into the university's centre of gravity. Most schools, most laboratories and nearly all undergraduate residences are here. It is vast, flat and laid out on a grid, with canals running through it, long avenues of trees and separate lanes for the bicycles and electric scooters that everyone relies on.

Landmarks to look for:

Siyuan Lake, at the heart of the campus, with lawns where students sit out in good weather.
The Pao Yue-Kong Library, a red-brick building overlooking the lake, and the newer main library nearby.
The gate on Dongchuan Road, under a broad white arch.
The clusters of teaching buildings known as the Upper, Middle and Lower Halls, where most undergraduate classes take place.

Next door are a high-technology park and the Minhang campus of another Shanghai university, so the whole district has a student and research feel, far from the towers of the city centre.

Student life

Almost all students live in university residences on the Minhang campus and eat in its canteens, which are spread across the grounds. Life is campus-centred during the week; at weekends the metro takes students into the city in under an hour. Medical students are based separately, near the teaching hospitals in the city centre.

Most degree programmes are taught in Chinese. The university also offers some programmes in English, particularly at graduate level, and Chinese-language courses for international students; check the language of instruction for any programme you are considering.

Visiting

Entry to Chinese university campuses is often controlled at the gates, and the rules for visitors (identity documents, advance reservation, opening times) change. Check the university's official website, or ask the admissions or international student office, before you go. The Xuhui campus and its museums are the easier of the two to include in an ordinary day in Shanghai.

Getting there and around

To Xuhui: Jiaotong University station, on metro Lines 10 and 11, is beside the campus. Xujiahui station, a larger interchange, is a short walk away.
To Minhang: the long-standing route is metro Line 5 to Dongchuan Road, followed by a bus, taxi or shared bicycle to the gate. Newer lines have brought stations closer to the campus, so check a current metro map.
Between the two: allow about an hour by metro, or 40 minutes or more by car depending on traffic. The university's own shuttle buses are for staff and students.
Arriving in Shanghai: Hongqiao airport and railway station, on the west side of the city, are the more convenient for both campuses; Pudong airport is on the far east side.

Where families usually stay

Xujiahui: on the doorstep of the old campus, with many hotels, large shopping centres and three metro lines.
The former French Concession and Jing'an: leafy streets, cafés and restaurants, one or two metro stops from Xuhui.
People's Square and the Bund: best for first-time sightseeing, and still a simple metro ride.
Near the Minhang campus: a smaller choice of business hotels, useful only if your visit is centred there.

Practical tips

See Xuhui in the morning and travel to Minhang after lunch, or give each its own half day.
Carry your passport; it may be needed at campus gates and museums.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons. Summers are hot and humid, with a rainy spell in June and July.
Also considering other universities in the region? See our Fudan University campus tour, also in Shanghai, and our Zhejiang University campus tour in Hangzhou, about an hour away by high-speed train.

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Cover photo: Jucember, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons