Yuelu Academy is one of the four ancient academies in China, and its predecessor can be traced back to the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties (about 958). In the ninth year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (976), Zhu Dong, the secretariat of Tanzhou, formally established Yuelu Academy on the basis of running schools by monks. After the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was changed to Hunan Higher Education School in the 29th year of Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty (1903), and later to Hunan Higher Normal School and Hunan Industrial College. 1926 was officially named Hunan University. After thousands of years, it has always been called the "Millennium University".

Since its establishment, Yuelu Academy has been famous for running schools and spreading academic culture. The emperor of northern Song Zhenzong summoned Zhou Shi, the leader of the mountain, and awarded a large number of books. The name of the academy began to spread all over the world, with the reputation of "Xiaoxiang Bamboo Silk". Bishop Zhu of the Southern Song Dynasty gave lectures twice. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty gave "respect for truth", Wang Yangming's school of mind and Lindong school spread and exchanged ideas here, and Wang Fuzhi, a famous patriotic thinker in Ming and Qing Dynasties, studied here. In Qing Dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong awarded the titles of "Learning from Nature" and "Learning from the South" respectively.

Yuelu Academy covers an area of 2 1 1,000 square meters. Most of the existing buildings are relics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The main buildings are the first gate, the second gate, the lecture hall, the semi-self-study hall, the teaching hall, Baiquanxuan, the Imperial Bookstore and the Confucian Temple. It is divided into lecture hall, book collection and memorial service. All the parts are interconnected and integrated, which completely shows the magnificent momentum of ancient architecture in China.

In addition to architectural relics, Yuelu Academy is also famous for preserving a large number of monuments, such as "Lushan Temple Monument" carved in Tang Dynasty, "Yuelu Academy Monument Workshop" carved by Song Zhenzong in Ming Dynasty, "Cheng Zi Si Yan Monument" carved in Qing Dynasty, "Learning Heaven", "Daonan Zhengmai" carved in Qing Dynasty, "Zhong Xiao Monument" carved by Ouyang Zhenghuan and so on.