SHANGHAI'S fate of being one of the first treaty ports forced to open to the West in the 1840s to some extent advanced its economic development. At the same time its culture and education system were also ready for renovation and the introduction of new higher education programme.

In 1863, a school which aimed to train interpreters was approved to be set up in the city - the Shanghai Tongwen Guan, also known as Shanghai School of Foreign Languages. Four years later, Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard established its own school to provide technical education for students and workers.

The establishment of the two schools laid the foundation for the future development of Shanghai's new education system. From then on, more and more Westerners and Chinese devoted themselves to the field of higher education.

Three types of colleges and universities were founded: national, private and church. Of all the cities of China, Shanghai soon grew up to an educational centre that was the equal of Beijing.

Usually, people who invested in the creation of colleges had a certain economic strength as well as a high level of culture.

Under such circumstances, colleges and universities established at that time were endowed with comparatively high standards in order to educate talented students.

First of all, they had a complex educational structure in contrast to that of the traditional schools. In addition, they offered students accommodation. Therefore, students not only studied in schools but also lived there.

All of this required colleges to build lots of large educational and recreational facilities. However, it was impossible to find much open land in the urban areas, especially considering the high cost of land. As a result, most colleges were built in the suburbs on cheaper land and with a quiet environment.

On the open land, to build a new college was like making a new painting. Designed in different styles by famous architects, the colleges made use of their pleasant surroundings and natural landscape to provide a comfortable environment for students.

Among the colleges, five institutions deserve special mention. The St. John's University was established by an American church in 1879. On its campus, Western architecture combined with Chinese characteristics could be seen everywhere.

As one of China's oldest universities, Shanghai Jiaotong University had Western-style architecture scattered about its campus. Interestingly, its entrance door, however, was built in the traditional Chinese style.

Fudan University, Hujiang University and Daxia University founded in the early 20th century have also preserved their campus architecture after 100 years of turbulent history leading up to and after Liberation in 1949. Today, they have are part of the unique landscape of modern Shanghai.

(The author is from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)