Beijing Normal University

Beijing Normal University, is a public research university located in Beijing, China, with a strong emphasis on basic disciplines of the humanities and sciences. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, and was recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Education as a Class A Double First Class University. BNU is often ranked no.1 among Chinese universities in Education according to the most recent QS World University Rankings by Subjects[4] and Academic Ranking of World Universities by Subjects.

The name "normal school" refers to an institution that aimed to train schoolteachers in the early 20th century. This terminology is preserved in the names of such institutions in China even after these schools gained university status and expanded to offer courses beyond education-related fields. This term reflects BNU's heritage as a former unit of the Faculty of Education at the Imperial University of Peking.

The University grew out of the Faculty of Education at the Imperial University of Peking which was established as China's first modern university, on the initiative of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty after the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898. In 1908 the Faculty of Education was named the "Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training" and was separated from the Imperial University of Peking, which subsequently became Peking University.