Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) is a key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and is one of China's oldest universities. 

China's last feudal government failed in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, plunging the entire nation into crisis. During those chaotic times, Sheng Xuanhuai, a famous industrialist and educator, established Shanghai-based Nanyang College in 1896 with the purpose of "promoting education for talents' development to realize the nation's rejuvenation".

In 1921, the college changed its name to Jiaotong University. By adhering to the mission of "learning practical skills, developing industries", the university stressed the pursuit of "a first-class code of conduct, first-class learning, first-class achievements, and first-class talent cultivation".

 By the 1920s-1930s, it had developed into a university with "science, engineering and management" as distinctive disciplines and was known as the "oriental MIT".

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), one section of the university moved to Shanghai's foreign settlements. Another section moved to Chongqing to continue education. To resist aggression, many students discontinued their studies and joined the military.

Before the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, students and teachers engaged in the revolution to establish an independent nation.

In 1956, the main part of Jiaotong University was relocated to Xi'an pursuant to a State Council decision, and was officially renamed Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1959. In the same year, it was listed as one of the 16 key universities in China. In 2000, with approval of the State Council, the former Xi'an Medical University and former Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics were merged with Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU).  

During the 7th and 8th Five-Year Plan periods (1986-95), XJTU was supported by the central government as one of the key universities in China, and was one of the first schools selected to China's "211" and "985" projects.

Xi'an Jiaotong University was on the list of universities that would be developed into world-class educational institutions released by the Ministry of Education in 2017, as a Double First-Class university in Category A. This means that government support will target developing XJTU into a world-class university, and its eight disciplines will be advanced to the international level.

Currently, XJTU is a comprehensive research university with nine major categories of disciplines: Science, Engineering, Medicine, Economics, Management, Humanities, Law, Philosophy and Art, of which Science and Engineering are its highlights. XJTU has 27 schools (departments/centers), nine colleges for undergraduates, and three affiliated hospitals.

XJTU has 6,538 faculty and staff, including 3,729 full-time teachers. There are 44 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, six nationally distinguished teachers, 42 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 25 national experts with outstanding contributions, 30 scholars listed in the “National Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Program” and the “New Century National Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Program”, 29 scholars who have won support as “Innovation Team leaders”, 234 scholars supported by the “Program for New Century Excellent Talents” administered by the Ministry of Education, and 491 experts who have made outstanding contributions to the nation and receive the State Council Special Allowance.

XJTU now has 44,325 full-time students, including 20,958 undergraduates, 21,383 postgraduates, and 1,984 international students. The university offers 90 undergraduate majors. These include 32 first-level disciplines authorized to confer doctorate degrees, 41 first-level disciplines authorized to confer master's degrees, five disciplines authorized to confer professional doctorate degrees, and 27 disciplines authorized to confer professional master's degrees. 

The university has 30 post-doctoral research stations, eight state-level key first-level disciplines, five national key laboratories, seven national engineering technology research centers, three national engineering laboratories, five international science & technology cooperation bases, one collaborative innovation center (2011), and 148 key research facilities at the provincial and ministerial level.

XJTU is also home to the Western China Energy Research Institute and the Western China Institute of Quality Science and Technology.

According to data released by Essential Science Indicators (ESI) in November 2020, 15 XJTU disciplines are ranked at the top among international academic institutions, three disciplines are ranked number one among 1,000 comparable programs and the engineering discipline is ranked number one among 10,000 competing disciplines.

During its more than 120-year history, Xi'an Jiaotong University has championed the principles of developing education to make China strong, pioneering with painstaking efforts, advocating virtues and pragmatism, seeking meticulous scholarship, and pursuing excellence.

It has developed such fine traditions as loving the country and the university, seeking truth, working steadily and conscientiously, hard work, and plain-living. It has formed management characteristics based on a high starting point, aiming to create a more solid foundation, stricter requirements, and more emphasis on practice.

XJTU's outstanding alumni include Zhang Yuanji, Cai Yuanpei, Cai E, Huang Yanpei, Zou Taofen, Lu Dingyi, Qian Xuesen, Zhang Guangdou, Wu Wenjun, Jiang Zemin, Huang Xuhua, and Hou Zonglian.

Since relocation to Xi'an in 1956, XJTU has cultivated 42 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, including Lin Zonghu, Cai Ruixian, Cao Chunxiao, Jiang Xinsong, Li Helin, Ye Shangfu, Li Peicheng, Yao Mu, Chen Guoliang, Lei Qingquan, Xiong Youlun, Tu Mingjing, Li Bohu, Su Junhong, Sun Jiulin, Chen Guilin, Cheng Shijie, Sun Caixin, Han Qide, Tan Tieniu, Cong Bin, Hao Yue, Chen Zhengqing, Jiang Song, Fang Jiancheng, Wang Huaming, Tang Guangfu, Guo Wanlin, Wu Yican, Luo Qi, and Yan Xinping.  

Overseas academicians include members of the US National Academy of Engineering and the US National Academy of Science and the Canadian Academy of Engineering, represented by Gao Huajian, Suo Zhigang, Jiang Jing, Liu Yilu, Liang Ping, and Chen Zhangxing.

Since 1956, XJTU has graduated 280,000 well-regarded students, including numerous famous XJTU alumni who have provided important intellectual support for western China's development.

These alumni include Yang Jiachi, Chen Huibo, Wen Xisen, Xiao Shengli, Ma Dexiu, Lei Jufang, Cui Dianguo, Sun Laiyan, Zhang Guobao, Jia Quanxi, Wang Jue, Lian Weiliang, Wen Shugang, Wang Jianping, Xin Bao'an, Jiang Xiaojuan, Pu Zhongjie, Yu Jie, He Jinbi, Zhang Yue'e, Gui Shengyue, Lu Lei, Zhang Yalin, Zhao Huan, Qiu Jianping, Liang Haishan, Feng Xingya, Zhou Hongyi, Chen Xi, Liu Guangbin, Zheng Haitao, Lu Yiming, Fan Deng, Liu Liehong, Zhang Dongchen, Wang Dongfeng, Liu Qi, Guo Wenjun, Jing Haipeng, Chen Dong, Xue Ying, and Zhang Xin.XJTU has fully implemented "cultivation in conduct, impartation of knowledge, training abilities, and innovation in thinking" in the cultivation of talents and established the system of "general education + professional education with wide-ranging knowledge" and a well-rounded "Undergraduate - Postgraduate - Doctoral Students" education system.

In 2006, XJTU took the lead among Chinese universities in creating a system of university colleges modeled on the traditional Chinese academy of learning. This twin-college system aims to give students the best possible opportunities for success.

In 2017, XJTU set up the Undergraduate School to carry the three-level administrative mode of "University - School - Department", and established a management system for undergraduate talent training of "collaboration, connection, coordination between teaching and educating."

Since 1985, based on the Qian Xuesen Honors College, XJTU has applied Qian Xuesen's spirit and wisdom in teaching practice to explore new mechanisms for cultivating innovative talents. It has also established top talent training trial classes, including the "Exceptionally Gifted Juvenile Class", "Qian Xuesen Pilot Class", "Hou Zonglian Pilot Class", "Pilot Classes for Talents of Basic Subject", and the "AI Pilot Class".

XJTU has received endorsements from students and parents for its unique educational model, favorable study environment, excellent teachers and substantial teaching resources, as well as positive teaching results.

To date, XJTU has won 78 national-level awards for teaching excellence, upgraded 35 courses to national-level quality , 23 courses to national-level quality for -resource-sharing , 13 national-level video open courses, 50 national-level first-class online courses, seven national-level first-class online & offline combined courses, nine national-level offline courses, 10 national-level first-class virtual simulation experiment teaching courses, and two national-level first-class social practice courses.

XJTU also has eight national-level teaching (education) bases, 12 national-level experimental teaching demonstration centers (including the virtual simulation experiment teaching center), nine national-level teaching teams, and one national-level teachers development center.

To date, 27 XJTU student dissertations have been included in "China's 100 best doctoral dissertations" and another 46 have been nominated for that award.

XJTU science and technology research is primarily focused on meeting the country's most important needs, forging into international frontiers, and enhancing China's technological competitiveness.

Since westward relocation, XJTU has been dedicated to taking the lead in scientific research and has achieved several "firsts" in certain fields at home and abroad, including the establishment of the first Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of China, the first university established majors of Steam Turbines, Automobile Manufacture, Refrigeration and Cryogenic Technology and Displacement Compressors, the invention of the first large All Purpose Electronic Computer and the first digital processor chip of China, and institutional affiliation of researchers who first proposed the twin-shear unified strength theory with proprietary intellectual property rights. 

Since its relocation, 241 of XJTU's more than 30,000 research achievements have won National Natural Science Awards, National Technological Innovation Awards, and a National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology, greatly benefitting society.

XJTU relies on its strength in key disciplines and its unique educational model that emphasizes the integration of production, study, and research. Along with government cooperation and with large and mid-sized enterprises, XJTU has established research and development parks that aim to help solve key technological problems facing industries and strengthen science and technology contributions to the regional economy and local social development.

Since 2000, XJTU researchers have led 21 research projects supported by "Program 973" and 5,343 research projects supported by China's National Natural Science Foundation. The total number of XJTU basic research projects and grants rank among the top Chinese universities.

Researchers from XJTU have undertaken 37 major projects supported by the National Social Science Foundation and have won 36 Excellent Research Achievement Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences) from the Ministry of Education. Seventeen high-end think tanks have been established in collaboration with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, which produced a large number of research results.

XJTU advocates "patriotism, collectivism, heroism, and optimism" — a mission culture focused on giving service to the country, pursuing excellence, pioneering innovation, and blazing new trails and a culture that works in teams and collaborates.

XJTU has a national-level base for cultural education and boasts 174 student organizations. It sponsors a rich and varied set of activities in science and technology, literature and the arts, and sports.

"Experts' Talks", "Talking Freely about the World", "Siyuan Lectures", "Learning Forum", "iHarbour Lectures", and the "Chuang Yuan Forum" have become well-known events that provide the opportunity for students and staff to expand their fields of vision.

In recent years, XJTU students have won awards in a wide range of competitions, including SAE Aero Design Competition, VEX Robotics Competition, International Mathematical Contest in Modeling, the World Mandarin Debating Championship, International English Speech Contest, the World Architecture Design Competition for University Students, Asian Area Selection Match for ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, China College Students' "Internet plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, "Challenge Cup" National University Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Work Competition, "Create in the Youth Years" China College Students' Entrepreneurship Competition, Contemporary Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling, National College Mechanical Innovation Competition, China University Robot Competition (Robocon), China Undergraduate Physics Tournament, National Aviation and Space Model (research- type) Tournament, and National University Student Social Practice and Science Contest on Energy Saving & Emission Reduction.

Xi'an Jiaotong University has established extensive international ties. Since 2000, 25 winners of the Nobel Prize and the Fields Prize and over 2,000 foreign professors have visited XJTU and given lectures.

XJTU also has exchanged or established cooperation relations with over 20,000 scholars, CEOs, and high-level government officials worldwide or developed other collaborative projects.

More than 28,000 XJTU teachers and students have gone abroad to visit, study, do research or participate in degree programs, and over 2,000 faculty members and researchers have traveled abroad for conferences.

XJTU has had relations and exchanges with 320 universities and research institutions in 44 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and Korea.

In 2019, there were some 3,000 international students from over 141 countries studying at XJTU.

Xi'an Jiaotong University has four campuses: the Xingqing campus, the Yanta campus, the Qujiang campus, and the Western China Science & Technology Innovation Harbour (iHarbour), covering a total area of about 4.48 million square meters and a total construction area of 4 million square meters.

The "Qian Xuesen Library," named after alumnus Qian Xuesen as authorized by the CPC Publicity Department, is located on the Xingqing campus. It encompasses nearly 44 thousand square meters and has 3,604 reading seats.

The library collections include 5.76 million books and over 10,000 newspapers and periodicals, and over 1,300 of them are current periodicals. The library has also been improving its digital collections and has introduced electronic resources from 132 platforms. Its holdings now include 59,000 electronic periodicals and 1.76 million e-books in Chinese and foreign languages.

The Western China Science &Technology Innovation Harbour (iHarbour), aiming to "contribute to national missions, establish a world science and education highland, serve the development of Shaanxi Province, become an innovation-driven platform and model a wisdom uni-town", has established eight major research platforms, 29 institutes, and more than 300 scientific research bases to serve China's major scientific research, including interdisciplinary research and  military and civilian integration research, as well as other types.

The iHarbour will better cultivate students' creativity, the commercialization and incubation of their scientific and technological achievements, and the development of the economy and society. It actively explores new models, forms, and experiences of the integration of modern universities and social development in the twenty-first century.

The Silk Road University Alliance, initiated by XJTU, has attracted more than 150 universities from 37 countries and regions and has created a group of high-end think tanks, such as the Collaborative Innovation Center of Pilot Reform Exploration and Assessment and the Collaborative Innovation Research Center of the Silk Road Economic Belt, that aim to serve social development and national rejuvenation and to  implement the strategy of enhancing international competitiveness and promoting regional internationalization with educational internationalization.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, gave important instructions on December 11, 2017 in response to a letter to him from 15 professors of Xi'an Jiaotong University who had moved along with the university to Xi’an from Shanghai decades ago. Xi paid high tribute to all those who responded to the central government's call and devoted themselves to the construction of the country decades ago. He expressed the hope that the teachers and students of XJTU will inherit the "western relocation spirit" and contribute their wisdom and energy to the country.

On April 22, 2020, Xi visited an exhibition on the relocation of Jiaotong University from Shanghai to Xi'an and its development and achievements at the Jiaotong University Westward Relocation Museum. He met with the professors who had made outstanding contributions to Jiaotong University's westward relocation and made two important speeches to interpret the core concept and essence of the "western relocation spirit". Xi encouraged all XJTU teachers and students to carry on that spirit and to create opportunities in this new era to make contributions where they are most needed, and to create a historical monument of our generation.    

At this new starting point of history, Xi'an Jiaotong University studies deeply and implements Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, focuses on the fundamental task of education, namely "upholding high moral values in student cultivation", insists on the orientation of "taking root in western China, giving service to the country, and striving to be world-class," pushes forward comprehensive reform, "Double First-Class" construction, and concrete development with firm confidence, heroic spirit, and great effort, and strives to write a fresh chapter of university development in the new era.  

Motto: Study assiduously, resolve to succeed, act decisively, and manage affairs with magnanimity.

Orientation: Take root in western China, give service to the country, and strive to be world-class.

Western relocation spirit: 

Connotation: Keep in mind the overall situation, work selflessly for our country, carry forward traditional culture, and pioneer with painstaking effort.

Core: Patriotism

Quintessence：Following the Party's lead, and always be with the Party and the people.

Mission: Xi'an Jiaotong University is committed to cultivating outstanding students who advocate the pursuit of science, make practical innovations, work hard and steadily; and, have noble-minded virtue and a strong sense of social responsibility to preserve, generate, and disseminate knowledge and to contribute to science and technology advances, social development, and human civilization in China and globally.

Vision: XJTU strives to take the lead in student education, scientific research, and social service to achieve preeminence. By the mid-21st century, We intend XJTU to be a world-class university, where prestigious teachers gather, talented students are delighted to attend, talents graduate in large numbers, and exert critical international influence.