Wuhan University (WHU; simplified Chinese: 武汉大学; traditional Chinese: 武漢大學; pinyin: Wǔhàn Dàxué; colloquially 武大, Pinyin: Wǔdà) is a key university located in Wuchang,Hubei,China. It is directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is regarded as one of the top ten universities in China. Its history dates back to 1893, making it one of the China's oldest higher learning institutions . It has been one of the first modern Chinese universities since the early 1920s. It is located in Hubei province's capital Wuhan, known as "the nine provinces' leading thoroughfare". The university dates back to the Ziqiang Institute (Simplified Chinese: 自强学堂; Traditional Chinese: 自強學堂; Pinyin: Zìqiáng Xuétáng ), which was founded in 1893 by Zhang Zhidong 张之洞, governor of Hubei and Hunan Provinces in the late Qing Dynasty. Later, it changed its name several times before it was named National Wuhan University in July 1928, and was among the first group of national universities in modern China. Feb, 1929, the jurist Wang Shijie became the first president of Wuhan University.