Yuelu Academy

Yuelu Academy is a university building at the foot of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha. Lecture halls surround rectangular courtyards, wooden roofs connect separate pavilions, and gardens with bamboo and stone paths divide the grounds.

The academy was built in 976 during the Northern Song Dynasty as a place for scholars studying Confucian classics. It became Hunan University in 1903 but kept its role as a teaching center.

The main gate and courtyards display calligraphy by scholars who taught here, each plaque reminding visitors of the values that shaped Confucian learning. Students from the modern campus walk through the same rooms where earlier generations studied, keeping the link between past and present alive.

The entrance sits on the eastern side of the mountain, reached on foot or by bus from the city center. Morning hours offer quieter courtyards, while paths fill with students and tour groups later in the day.

The institution has been teaching continuously for more than 1000 years, making it one of the oldest active educational sites in the world. Some stone slabs in the main courtyard still carry inscriptions from the Ming era that set rules for student behavior.