Yuelu Academy, Changsha

Yuelu Academy, Changsha

Yuelu, is the only surviving ancient Chinese university to have an unbroken line of teaching. It stretches back over a thousand years, making this the oldest extant university in the world – nearly two hundred years older than Bologna in Italy. The academy’s pavilions, leafy bird-trilling gardens and courtyards (where scholars once gathered to attend lectures by Confucian masters) stretch up a wooded hill just outside Changsha. Come early in the morning on a weekday to catch the serenity and be sure to see the ascetic room where Mao Ze Dong once slept and the views of Changsha from the top of Moun Yuelu hill. You won’t see the students today; their classrooms are separated from the area open to the public, to ensure quiet learning