Central South University (CSU)

The Central South University (CSU) is a comprehensive research seat of higher learning. It is administered by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

STATUS & RANKINGS
The CSU finds a pride of place among the first tier universities of China and is also included in the prestigious Project 211 and the equally celebrated Project 985 of the Chinese Government. Both the schemes aim at upgrading the infrastructure of the various educational and research institutions across the sprawling country. According to the latest rankings of the top 2,000 universities of the country prepared by the Education Ministry of the Chinese Government, the CSU is placed in the 16th position.

LOCATION
The Central South University is at Changsha — an urban hub steeped in history and culture, in the Hunan province located in the central south of China.

TRACING THE ROOTS
The roots of this quite popular and successful educational and research institution have been traced to April 29, 2000, when three universities were merged to form the Central South University. Those institutions (in an alphabetical order) were the Central South University of Technology (founded in 1952), the Changsha Railway University (founded in 1953) and the Hunan Medical University (founded as the ‘Hsiang-ya Medical College’ in 1914 and later named as the ‘Xiangya School of Medicine’).

SCHOOLS OF STUDY
The CSU offers varied courses and manages 30 colleges and institutes. These are (in alphabetical order): There are thirty different colleges and institutes at CSU offering different courses of study. The Central South University monitors 20 schools, six colleges and two research institutions. Here is the list in a random order:

• Law School


• Nursing School


• Business School


• Software School


• School of Stomatology


• School of Public Health


• School of Foreign Languages


• School of Basic Medical Sciences


• School of Mathematics and Statistics


• School of Physics and Electronics


• School of Aeronautics and Astronautics


• School of Energy and Power Engineering


• School of Material Science and Engineering


• School of Resources and Safety Engineering


• School of Civil Engineering and Architecture


• School of Political Science and Administration


• School of Metallurgical Science and Engineering


• School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering


• School of Information Science and Engineering


• School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering


• School of Info-physics and Geomatics Engineering


• School of Geo-science and Environmental Engineering

The six colleges run by the University are:

• College of Fine Arts


• College of Literature


• College of Pharmaceutical Sciences


• College of Biological Science and Technology


• College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering


• College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering

The two research wings managed by the University are:

• Research Institute of Powder Metallurgy


• Research Department of Physical Education

KEY LABORATORIES
The CSU also has two national key laboratories. They are the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of China and the State Key Laboratory for Powder Metallurgy of China.

Changsha

Changsha is a major commercial and cultural hub in the Hunan Province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It has eight divisions of the county level and 172 townships or urban locales. It is the 19th largest metropolis in China.

LOCATION
This prefecture status city situated at an elevation of 208 ft (63 m) above the sea level is spread over an area of 4,563 sq miles (11,819 km2).

POPULATION
According to the 2010 Census, the population of Changsa is 7,044,118. The density of human habitation is 1,500 sq mi (600 km2). The urban population is 3,617,469.

NATIONALITIES
The major nationality inhabiting the Changsa City is that of the Han. They constitute 99.2 per cent of the total population of the place. The minorities make up just 0.78 per cent.

TIME ZONE
The time zone of Changsa City is China Standard (UTC+8).

POSTAL CODE
The Postal Code of Changsa is 410000.

TRACING ITS ROOTS
Since the days of the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC), the city had played a major role in the commercial and industrial activities of the province. Changsa has also been the capital city of many successive dynasties and it has been a witness to many a political upheaval. During the rebellion of Taiping, seize was laid on the city and it was also occupied by the Japanese army for a brief period, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45. Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China had his political baptism in this city and the Former Office of the Hunan Communist Party Central Committee, where he once lived, has since been turned into a museum. In 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was formed, Changsha became a part of its territory.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
The city’s means of road, rail, river and air transport are well developed and it is an important centre of industrial, tourist and service sectors.

ROADS
The national Highways 107 and 319 and the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Express Way pass through the city. An extensive network of buses and taxis also serve the commuters.

RAIL
The city is well connected with most other cities of China by express and regular train services from the Changsha Railway Station, located at city center, via the Beijing-Guangzhou and Shimen-Changsha Railways.

RIVERWAYS
With major rivers, including the Laodaohe, Xiangjiang, and the Liuyanghe surrounding it, the city has an important port called Xianing from where ships transport mainly goods to domestic and international destinations.

AIRWAYS
The Changsha Huanghua International Airport provides direct flights to 45 major cities both domestic as well as international and it is a regional hub for China Southern Airlines and also other airlines.

ECONOMY
The city is regarded as one of China’s 20 most economically advanced cities. Changsha’s nominal gross domestic product in 2008 saw a rise than the previous years at 300.1 billion Yuan and its per capita GDP was 45,765 Yuan. Compared to the national average of 9% during the period of 2001-2005, Its GDP grew at an average of 14% per year.

Academic & Department

• Business School


• College of Chinese Language and Culture


• The College of Environmental Science and Engineering


• The College of Ideological and Cultural Education


• College of Information Technical Science


• School of Literature


• School of Mathematical Sciences


• Deparment of Philosophy


• Institute of Physics


• TEDA College


• Zhou Enlai School of Government


• School of Economics


• College of Pharmacy

Facilities
TVs, telephones, air-condition, toilet

Fees
15 – 40 RMB/day

Food
There are public kitchens in the dorm with cooking utensils.

Cost
RMB 500 – 800 per month.