Based in Beijing, China Agricultural University is the oldest agricultural university in the country. Established as the College of Agriculture in 1905, it became Beijing Agricultural University following a merger after the People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. It then merged with Beijing Agricultural Engineering University in 1995, becoming China Agricultural University, as it known today.

CAU has three campuses, covering a total of 388 acres. The East Campus is north of the city centre, 10km from the West Campus and 25km south east of Beijing’s main airport.

Several new buildings have been built since the turn of the century, including a Life Sciences Building and College of Engineering. CAU’s centennial celebration in 2005 took place in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.

China Agricultural University has established partnerships with hundreds of institutions across the world, with an increasing number of its students now studying abroad. Its students come from over 80 different countries globally.

CAU’s new gymnasium played host to all the wrestling events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, both freestyle and Greco-Roman. The university’s rugby side that formed in 1990 played a major part in the re-emergence of rugby union as a sport in China. China Agricultural University’s alumni include fly-half Zhang Zhiqiang, who captained the Chinese national team and played for English side Leicester Tigers before returning to his alma mater to coach his old team.

The university’s motto is: “Tackle Problems the People Face, Cultivate Talents the World Needs.”