Address: 222 South Tianshui Road, Chengguan District, 730000 Lanzhou, Gansu, China
Chemistry, Physics, Life Sciences
Lanzhou sits on the upper reaches of the Yellow River and is the capital of Gansu province in northwest China. Lanzhou University, founded there in 1909 as the Gansu Law and Politics School, is administered by the Ministry of Education and operates two campuses, one of them the Chengguan campus.
The school changed its name as its status grew: Sun Yat-sen University of Lanzhou in 1928, National Lanzhou University in 1945, and Lanzhou University after 1949. It absorbed the Gansu Grassland Ecology Research Institute in 2002 and Lanzhou Medical College in 2004, which added grassland ecology and medicine to its portfolio. It belongs to Project 985 and Project 211 and was among the first Chinese universities authorised to award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
The university’s published figures list 19,775 undergraduates, 10,572 postgraduates and 2,559 doctoral candidates. The ShanghaiRanking Academic Ranking of World Universities placed it in the 201-300 band in both its 2023 and 2026 editions.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Geotechnics, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Important university for Northwest China. Collaborations in ecological and environmental research.
Nankai University in Tianjin is a public university with chemistry, physics and life sciences as main specialties.
Northwest University Xi'an, a public university teaching sciences, geology, chemistry, physics, life sciences and law, offers a comparable inland setting in another northwestern provincial capital.
Xiamen University pairs chemistry with marine science and materials, making it a public, research-oriented comprehensive university in Fujian.
Jilin University combines chemistry and geosciences with automotive engineering.
Yunnan University, a public comprehensive university in Yunnan province, spans law, medicine, economics and life science.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Universität Leipzig in Germany, a public university whose specialties include physics and earth sciences, chemistry and mineralogy, and life sciences.
Hokkaido University in Japan is a public institution strong in agricultural sciences and environmental and earth sciences.
University of Innsbruck, a public Austrian university, teaches physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology next to law and the humanities, a comprehensive profile like Lanzhou University's.
Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands is a public university built around earth sciences, life sciences and chemistry.
Universität Basel in Switzerland, a public university in Basel-Stadt, pairs life sciences and nanoscience with physics and chemistry.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When was Lanzhou University founded?
The institution dates to 1909, when it opened as the Gansu Law and Politics School, and Britannica gives the same founding year. It became Sun Yat-sen University of Lanzhou in 1928 and National Lanzhou University in 1945.
Where is the university located?
It is in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, on the upper Yellow River. The university has two campuses, including the Chengguan campus.
Which authority runs Lanzhou University?
It is a public university administered by China's Ministry of Education. It is part of Project 985 and Project 211, two national programmes that funded selected universities.
How large is the student body?
The university's own figures list 19,775 undergraduates, 10,572 postgraduates and 2,559 doctoral candidates.
Did other institutions merge into Lanzhou University?
Yes. The Gansu Grassland Ecology Research Institute joined in 2002 and Lanzhou Medical College in 2004, so the university now covers medicine alongside sciences and the humanities.
How does Lanzhou University rank internationally?
ShanghaiRanking's ARWU listed it in the 201-300 band in 2023 and again in 2026. Rankings change each year, so check the current edition before comparing universities.
Where can international applicants find fees and entry rules?
Programme-level tuition and admission requirements are published by the university on its official English site at en.lzu.edu.cn, and the international office can confirm current conditions.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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