New building on Peking University campus to promote international ties

Following the University of Chicago, Columbia University and other top-tier international universities, Stanford University of the United States launched a research center in China on Wednesday at Peking University.

The center serves as the headquarters for Stanford staff conducting research and overseas programs in China.

But unlike its peers, the Stanford Center at Peking University owns a 36,000-square-meter building for Stanford's use on the Peking University campus. It is the first US university to construct a building on a major Chinese university campus.

Stanford spent $7 million on this project, which was funded entirely by the Stanford International Initiative.

The center is located beside the Weiming Lake, one of the most picturesque spots on the Peking University campus. Walking through a white ancient Japanese style bridge, visitors can see the quadrangular house with a templelike dome come into view.

The center will encourage more student exchanges, academic collaboration and faculty visits between China and the US, John Hennessy, Stanford president, said at a news conference in the center.

Zhu Shanlu, Party chief of Peking University, shows a stone relief, a gift from John Hennessy (left), president of Stanford University, at the Stanford Center at Peking University on Wednesday. Sun Linlin / for China Daily