Zhou Yuanqing- Former Minister of State Education Ministry and President of State Higher Education Association visited Xiangnan University on November 21, 2012 for the investigation of university’s work on discipline construction, research, etc. and held a forum there. Zhong Benqiang- Director of Chenzhou Municipal NPC Standing Committee, Wang Xianguo- former departmental level cadre of Chenzhou Municipal Party Committee and Xu Benhua- Secretary-general of Chenzhou Municipal NPC Standing Committee were present at relative activities.

Xiangnan University is an iconic and exemplary university for Chenzhou city’s development of higher education and a foundation platform for Chenzhou city’s achievement on transformation development and scientific development. There are 33 undergraduate majors of 9 disciplines available in the university. It currently has 17500 full-time students and 900 regular teachers, among who 132 are professors, 264 associate professors, and 473 doctors and masters. In recent years, in accordance with the development demands of Chenzhou local economical, social and cultural improvement, the university paid special attention to the policy research on undertaking industrial transfer development and established 21 special research institutions like “region economy research institution”, “Nanling medicine resource research institution”, “local culture”, etc.. Furthermore, the university undertook 116 research projects above provincial levels and gained 6 provincial research awards.

Zhou Yuanqing considers that a university should be centered with quality and guided with concepts in order to improve the higher education. The principal task for a school is to cultivate useful talents while the eternal theme for a university is to upgrade its quality. Xiangnan Univeristy should adapt to the new situation and development of higher education, pay equal attention to elite education and popular education, attach much importance to the research of higher education with the aim of establishing the higher education concept system with Chinese characteristics.