Curious to know what stories these walls could tell? This is the No.1 Teaching Building. It stands proudly as part of Guangxi Normal University. This university boasts a rich history.
Guangxi Normal University started in 1932. It began as Guangxi Provincial Teacher’s College. Yang Dongyu a notable educator was its first president. The university first stood in Guilin’s Yanshan District. Today, it still maintains a branch campus there.
The No.1 Teaching Building has seen Guangxi Normal University evolve. The university faced a power struggle early on. This was between the Guangxi government and the Nationalist Ministry of Education. This led to many changes. It was absorbed into other institutions and renamed several times. It was later re-established.
In 1936, the school merged into National Guangxi University. It became the National Guangxi University College of Liberal Arts. The focus shifted to humanities. It no longer functioned solely as a normal school.
The demand for teachers grew in 1941. The college separated from Guangxi University. It became the independent Guangxi Teacher’s College. It was renamed Guangxi Guilin Teacher’s College in 1942. In 1943, it became National Guilin Teacher’s College. By 1946, the school moved to Nanning. It was then known as the National Nanning Teacher’s College.
The school moved back to Guilin in 1950. It merged with National Guangxi University again. It became the National Guangxi University Teacher’s College. This was also known as the College of Culture and Education. It retained its role as a normal school.
A major reorganization of higher education occurred in 1953. The Ministry of Education re-established the normal school. It became an independent institution. It was named Guangxi Teacher’s College. Guangxi University provided support. They transferred 53 professors. These professors taught Chinese, foreign languages, and more. 256 faculty members also joined. Many were from the original Guangxi Provincial Teacher’s College.
The Guangxi Normal University got the historic Jingjiang Princes’ Palace as its Wangcheng Campus. Until 1978, it was the only Guangxi institution granting Bachelor’s degrees in teacher education. In 1981, it gained authorization to grant Master’s degrees.
The institution became Guangxi Normal University on May 29, 1983. It granted its first doctoral degrees in 2006. Today, Guangxi Normal University has many students. As of 2018, it had 26831 undergraduates. There were also 6386 graduate students. Furthermore, it had 171 PhD candidates. This included over 1600 international students. There are 16000 correspondence and visiting students too.
Guangxi Normal University has extensive international collaborations. It has exchange programs and research agreements. It is a “demonstration base” for international student programs. Over 1600 international students study here.
The university partners with over 200 institutions in 40 countries. This includes Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Malaysia. GXNU hosts three Confucius Institutes. They are in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
As you stand here, remember the No.1 Teaching Building. It symbolizes Guangxi Normal University’s dedication to education. Its walls echo with the voices of students. They pursue knowledge and shape their futures.