Introduction

CNU was founded in 1954. Its predecessor was the Tongzhou Normal University that was established in 1905. Being a national “Double-First Class” university and “Province-Ministry Co-sponsored” (Beijing and the Education Ministry) university, CNU provides various disciplines including literature, science, engineering, management, law, education, foreign language, and art. For over 60 years, CNU has cultivated more than 200 thousand talents specialized in different fields and has been a significant talent-training base of Beijing.

Presently, the CNU runs 17 primary disciplines that confer doctoral degrees, 101 doctoral programs, 16 postdoctoral research centers, 26 primary disciplines which confer master degrees and 141 masters programs, 14 professional degrees. The CNU also has 4 National Key Disciplines, 1 National Support for Key Disciplines, 8 Beijing Municipal Primary Key Disciplines, 12 Beijing Municipal Secondary Key Disciplines, 2 Beijing Municipal Primary Discipline (in process), 13 Beijing Municipal Secondary Disciplines (under construction), 4 Beijing Municipal Supported Primary Disciplines and 2 Beijing Municipal Interdisciplinary Disciplines. As for the research level, CNU has 1 cultivation base for National Key Laboratory co-sponsored by Province and Ministry of Education, 2 key laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 1 Humanities and Social Science Key College Research Base supervised by the Ministry of Education, 1 Science Research Center of the Ministry of Education, 1 Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, 1 National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, 1 Teaching Center for Virtual Simulation Experiment (National-level), 1 National and International Technological Cooperation Base,1 National Language Research Base, 1 Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Imaging Technology, 1 Beijing Municipal laboratory, 11 Beijing Municipal Key laboratories, 2 Beijing University Science Research Center, 1 research center for engineering technologies of Beijing Municipality, 1 engineering lab of Beijing Municipality, 1 Beijing Social Science and Natural Science Collaborative Innovation and Research Base，4 cultivation bases for Beijing University municipal-level out-school talents, and 7 Beijing Municipal Experimental Teaching Demonstrating Centers, 10 provincial and ministry-level research (college, institution, center) and labs.

Academics

There are 31 colleges and departments in CNU. They include the Colleges of Literature, History, Political Science and Law, Education, Foreign Language Studies, Marxism Education, Management, Music, Fine Art, Mathematics and Science, Life Science, Resource Environment and Tourism, Information Engineering, Primary Education, Preschool Education, Adult Education, International College, Chinese Cultural Education, the Jingjiang College, the Yandu College Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Educational Technology, Liangxiang Campus for Basic Education, the Research Institute of the Culture of Calligraphy of China, Institute of Cultural Studies, Capital Institute of Basic Education Development and Research, Teaching and Research Department of College English and Teaching and Research Department of Physical Education, and so on. Apart from these, the CNU has 1 major for junior college education, and 54 majors for undergraduate. 195 full-time throughout educated students, among which With 40 full-time junior college students, 11,245 undergraduates, 6,691 masters, 851 Ph.Ds., 10,382 adult education students and 2,155 international students the total number of students at CNU is 31,559. CNU has formed a multi-dimensional and multi-level operational structure and teaching system covering it all right from the junior college education to undergraduates, masters, Ph. D.s, and post-doctorates, from full-time education to adult education and international education.

Achievements

In 2003, the CNU was declared as the “Outstanding University of Undergraduate Teaching” in the undergraduate teaching review conducted by the Ministry of Education. Currently, CNU has 7 national distinguished majors, 10 Beijing Municipal distinguished majors, 6 national teaching teams, 8 Beijing Municipal teaching teams, 3 experimental centers for innovation of national talent cultivation mode, 1 experimental center for innovation of Beijing municipal talent cultivation mode, 1 education base for national university student extracurricular practice and 2 bases for Beijing demonstrating university of innovation and practice. CNU also has 12 national elaborate courses, 29 Beijing Municipal elaborate courses, 1 national bilingual teaching demonstration course, 20 Eleventh Five-year Plan textbooks of the Ministry of Education, 5 national elaborate textbooks, 1 classic textbook for Beijing higher education, 57 elaborate textbooks for Beijing higher education, 16 national-planned textbooks of the undergraduate education of the Twelfth Five-year Plan, 1 national elaborate online open course, 6 national elaborate courses for resource sharing, National level massive open online course - two subjects and 8 national elaborate courses for teaching resource sharing. In addition, the CNU has 2 national ‘famous teachers’, 25 Beijing municipal ‘famous teachers’ and in 2008 the CNU was declared as the “National Innovative Experiment Program for University Students”. Through the review of outstanding teaching work, CNU won 2 first prizes and 13-second prizes (including cooperation program) of national outstanding teaching work awards and 117 Beijing municipal outstanding teaching work awards. The CNU students have achieved many prizes in the “Challenge Cup”, Mathematics Modeling and Computer Application contests, Electronics contest, English Public Speaking Contest, and other national and municipal competitions. Last but not the least, the top talent cultivation has gained great achievement and glory by winning 2 National Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards, 8 National Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Nomination Awards, and 9 Beijing Municipal Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards.

About Beijing

Beijing, the capital of China, is a city where the ancient culture and modern civilization are well integrated. It attracts tens of millions of visitors and tourists both at home and abroad each year to enjoy its rich culture and wonderful scenery.

Beijing is endowed with rare cultural heritage by its long history. The Great Wall, one of the world wonders and the only piece of man-made architecture that can be seen from the space, meanders through mountains and valleys for hundreds of kilometers in the region of Beijing. The poetic and picturesque Summer Palace is a classic work of the imperial garden. The Forbidden City is the most splendid architectural complex of imperial palaces in the world. The Temple of Heaven is the place of worship for emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties as well as a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architectural art. The above four have all been listed in the World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

January is mostly sunny month in Beijing, but it can be very cold and windy. Temperatures can drop to -20°C (4°F)

Clothing Advice: Thanks to heating systems, a thin sweater is usually enough if you are staying inside. If venturing outside you have to wear a thick sweater, a warm down coat, boots, gloves, hat, and scarf to keep warm.

Campus

Capital Normal University comprises eight campuses, most located on the Third Ring Road in Beijing. The southern campus, the headquarters, houses the majority of CNU's academic programs. The North 1 campus houses the College of International Culture. The North 2 campus houses the College of Information Engineering. The East 1 campus houses the College of Education. The Liang Xiang campus houses the Department of Fundamental Education for the freshman.

With 0.76 million square meters of teaching buildings, the entire CNU campus spans 0.88 million square meters. Its total net value including all the assets is estimated to be 14.81 billion. The CNU library which stores 1291.8 thousand books represents one of the national key libraries for documentary reference. Not only that the CNU boasts of a complete digital campus with a stable comprehensive and effective Internet. And there are also artificial turf playgrounds which comply with national standards, gymnasiums, badminton courts, swimming pools, and other sports facilities.