According to the historical records of China, the earliest normal education in China was Nanyang Public School, which was opened in Shanghai from 65438 to 0896 in the late Qing Dynasty.

Nanyang Public School, the predecessor of Xi Jiaotong University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, was founded in Sheng Xuanhuai 1896 (the 22nd year of Guangxu). Together with Beiyang University, it is the earliest university founded by China people in modern history of China.