The main campus of Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU) is located at the cultural historical city of Jinhua in the central part of Zhejiang Province. The city links Shanghai and Hangzhou to the north, and Guangdong and Fujian provinces to the south. The University is next to a national scenic spot—the Double Dragon Cave, and covers a total area of more than 220 hectares with a total floor space of more than one million square meters. Its green and beautiful campus furnishes an ideal place for living, study and work.
The historical evolution of Zhejiang Normal University can be traced back to "Hangzhou Junior Teacher’s College", set up in 1956, and then evolved into “Hangzhou Teacher’s College” in 1958. In 1962, both Zhejiang Education College and Zhejiang Physical Education College were merged to form Zhejiang Teacher’s College, which was moved to Jinhua in 1965. In 1980, the college was enlisted as a key provincial institution of higher learning. In 1985, the college acquired its university status as Zhejiang Normal University.
Later on, in 2000, 2001, and 2004, three more schools merged into ZJNU, i.e. Zhejiang Financial School, Zhejiang School of Preschool-Teacher Education and Jinhua Railway Engineering School respectively. As one of the key provincial universities, ZJNU specializes in teacher education with multiple branches of learning. The University consists of 18 colleges offering 61 undergraduate programs. It has an enrollment over 25,480 undergraduates, 4,300 postgraduates, and 15,000 adult students in various adult education programs.
Among the total staff of 2,640, there are 1,460 full-time instructors, including a Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician, 260 full professors and 650 associate professors. One professor was awarded the title of National Outstanding Scholar. The University is named by the Ministry of Education as a Key National Training Base for Teachers of Vocational Education. In addition, it is designated by the Ministry of Railways as a base for the training of locomotive engineers. Moreover, Zhejiang Training Center for University and College Teachers is affiliated to the University for Various In-service Training Programs.
