The campus of Tsinghua University is situated in northwest Beijing on the site of the former imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty, and surrounded by a number of historical sites. Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsing Hua Imperial College”. The school was renamed "Tsing Hua College" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925. The name “National Tsing Hua University” was adopted in 1928.

Founded in 1898, Peking University was originally known as the Imperial University of Peking. Its establishment signified the complete collapse of the old feudal educational system that had lasted for several thousand years, and at the same time, the birth of a brand-new educational system that met the demands of development in a new age. Following China’s defeat in the First Sino Japanese War (1894-1895), initiatives were introduced to replace the outdated education system with a more modern one. In 1898, amid intensifying internal and external crises, Emperor Guangxu issued his first reform decree, declaring the establishment of the Imperial University of Peking. The University was China's first modern institution for higher education, and in its early days, it also served as the highest Administrative Office for Education.

Zhejiang University (ZJU) is one of China’s top higher education institutions, as well as one of its oldest; its roots can be traced back to 1897 and the founding of the Qiushi Academy. Located in Hangzhou – one of China’s most picturesque cities – the University is organized across seven faculties and 37 schools. It is home to 4,191 full-time faculty members, including 52 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. ZJU has 60,739 full-time students, over 56% of whom are postgraduate students.

Fudan University was established in 1905 as Fudan Public School. The school’s name was chosen from the “Biography of Yuxia” in the Classic of History (《尚书大传 虞夏传》), where the two characters fù复 (“return”) and dàn旦 (“dawn”) are found in the famous lines “Brilliant are the sunshine and moonlight, again the morning glory after the night,” signifying continuous self-renewal, and expressing the hope that China could become a country with a strong higher education system run by Chinese intellectuals.

Located in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province in the central part of China, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of P. R. China, and is among the first Universities joining the national “211 Project” and “985 Project”.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) was founded in Shanghai, China, in 1896, with the goal of cultivating talented professionals for the nation. Today, SJTU has become one of the world's top 100 universities and a key university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People's Republic of China and co-constructed by MOE and Shanghai Municipal Government. SJTU is currently comprised of 5 campuses with more than 300 hectares.

Wuhan University is a comprehensive and key national university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is a participant university of the "985" project and "211 Project" in China and also one of the first universities approved under the national "Double First Class" Initiative. In 2022, the University ranked 157 in the Thames Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking, 101-150 in the Soft Science World University Academic Ranking (ARWU), and 194 in the QS World University Ranking, an international education research institution.

Tongji University is a leading university directly under the State Ministry of Education in China, and is also included in the state-funded Project 211 and the 21st Century Education Rejuvenation Action Plan of China. The history of the university dates back to 1907 when Tongji German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun, a German doctor in Shanghai. In 1923 it was officially established as a university and in 1927 it was renamed as National Tongji University. It then grew to be a comprehensive university offering programs in science, engineering, medicine, arts and law. In 1952, after the discipline reorganization, Tongji University became the largest and most complete university with strength in engineering, especially in Chinese civil engineering. In 1978, following the Reform and Opening-up Policy in China, Tongji has quickly developed to be a multi-disciplinary university with strength in engineering. Today, with a history of more than 100 years, Tongji has grown into a comprehensive research-oriented university which offers ten major disciplines, namely sciences, engineering, medicine, literature, arts, law, economics, management, philosophy and pedagogy.