Beijing Language and Culture University
Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU; Chinese: 北京语言大学; pinyin: Běijīng Yǔyán Dàxué) is a public university of linguistics in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China.
Other name | Bei Yu (北语) | ||||||
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Former names | Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students (1962–4), Beijing Language Institute (1964–1996) | ||||||
| Established | 1962 | ||||||
| President | Peng Duan | ||||||
| Vice-president | Cao Zhiyun, Qi Dexiang, Dong Lijun | ||||||
| Chairperson of the University Council | Ni Haidong | ||||||
Administrative staff | 1,201 (est.) | ||||||
| Undergraduates | 6,258 (4,486 domestic, 1,772 international) | ||||||
| Postgraduates | 2,216 (1,879 domestic, 337 international) | ||||||
| 338 (242 domestic, 96 international) | |||||||
| Location | , China 39°59′36″N 116°20′16″E | ||||||
| Campus | Urban | ||||||
| Colors | Green, yellow, gray | ||||||
| Mascot | Beiyuer (宝贝鱼) | ||||||
| Website | blcu.edu.cn english | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 北京语言大学 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 北京語言大學 | ||||||
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| Yuyan Xueyuan | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 语言学院 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 語言學院 | ||||||
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The university has the main aim of teaching the Chinese language and culture to foreign students. It is a key university directly under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is the only international university founded by the People's Republic of China named after "language" and with the main mission of spreading Chinese language and culture. However, it also takes Chinese students specializing in foreign languages and other relevant subjects of humanities and social sciences, and trains teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. It used to be the only institute of this kind in China. After the push for higher education starting in the 90s, nowadays many other universities in almost every major city in China have a similar offer. Thus bachelor, master or post-doc degrees in "Teaching Chinese as a second language to Foreigners", as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in several foreign languages, are no longer only to be found at BLCU.
Beijing Language and Culture University is often called "Little United Nations" in China because of its very large number of international students from various countries. As of 2022, there are approximately 9,000 international students in its campus, ranking first in China.
As of 2020, Beijing Language and Culture University ranked no.5 nationwide among universities specialized on languages teaching and research in the recent edition of a recognized Best Chinese Universities Ranking, the sub-ranking of Shanghai Ranking.