容闳与耶鲁

The first story began in 1847 when Mr. Yung Wing (容闳) followed his mentor, Priest Brown, to the U.S., becoming one of the first Chinese students to study overseas. He enrolled at Yale three years later and obtained his bachelor's degree in 1854. Yung Wing returned to China soon afterwards and began his 16-year effort of lobbying the Qing government to send students overseas for education. His effort won support from two government heavyweights: Zeng Guofan（曾国藩）and Li Hongzhang（李鸿章）.

In 1872, the Qing government finally approved Yung Wing's proposal. That Summer, 30 Chinese students, aged between 9 and 15, set sail on a steam boat from Shanghai, arrived in San Francisco 33 days later, and were placed into American schools and universities. This program continued for three more years and allowed a total of 120 Chinese students to learn, grow, and explore on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

In 1881, ordered by the Qing government, 93 students returned to their homeland. They had collectively changed China's course, quietly but profoundly. Among these returnees are Zhan Tianyou (詹天佑), a legendary railroad engineer; Tang Guoan (唐国安), the founding President of Tsinghua University; and Tang Shaoyi (唐绍仪), the first cabinet Prime Minister of the Republic of China.

In 1895, one of these early pioneers, Cai Shaoji (蔡绍基), an alumnus of Yale Law School, assumed the presidency of Peiyang University, arguably China's first modern university. Over the following two decades, several modern higher education institutions were founded in China.

The clear benefits of advanced learning and cultural exchanges motivated the creation of many other programs in China. Among these, the Tsinghua School was established in 1911 as a dedicated preparatory school for college studies in the U.S. In 1925, the Tsinghua School formally became Tsinghua University, with U.S.-trained students coming back to play a crucial role in the university buildup for decades to come.

中国与美国

By the end of 2019, more than 4 million Chinese students had returned to their homeland, creating a major force of transformation in every corner of the Chinese society. For another example, in the past 15 years since 2008, the number of innovative new pharmaceuticals approved by China's National Medical Products Administration has increased more than 30-fold compared to the previous 15 years. The vast majority of these drugs were discovered by overseas returnees.

Most importantly, collaboration between Chinese and American scientists is a major source of breakthroughs in basic research. The cross-border flow of students, scholars, entrepreneurs, and tourists has brought tremendous benefits to China, the U.S., and the global community. Now, China hosts approximately half a million international students. Such exchanges are a crucial feature of modern society and a pre-requisite for sharing the same earth planet by all nations and all peoples.

西湖与世界

Unlike Yale of more than 300 years old, Westlake University was founded less than six years ago. Supported by both public funding and private philanthropy, Westlake is a new-type research university, the first of its kind in the history of modern China. The word "new-type" defines a new concept and reflects our role as a vanguard in reforming higher education in China. Westlake is governed by a Board of Trustees, and is committed to advancing the frontiers of science and technology by nurturing the next generation of scientists, engineers, and leaders with a global mindset.

At Westlake, we are proud to bring together students, scholars, faculty, and staff from many countries and different cultures. 230 exceptional scientists from 15 countries and regions have joined us as faculty members. Of these, 11 have a Yale background. Both Chinese and English are official languages at Westlake, and all science courses are taught in English.

Last year, we hosted 31 American students on our campus for a summer program. During their stay, they exchanged their views on science, research, society, and the world with local Chinese students. They engaged in collaborative studies, participated in recreational activities, and worked together on research projects. The friendships these students enjoyed in the summer program will continue for many years to come.

We strive to build bridges with institutions worldwide. By now, we have established partnerships with 45 universities worldwide. We played host to 37 students of Cornell University who were stranded in China during the fight against COVID. We enrolled our first undergraduate class of only 60 students in Fall 2022; they will go to our partnering universities in the U.S. for one-semester exchanges in the coming Fall. We are developing a truly international community to build bridges between China and the rest of the world.

Westlake was built in China, but it serves the entire world and all humanities.