Xi’an Peihua University has navigated nearly a century of challenges and growth, forging a distinctive educational identity centered on three core pillars: women’s education, vocational education, and red education. Since its inception, Peihua has been dedicated to women’s liberation and gender equality, empowering women with the skills to earn a living and achieve personal independence. Following China’s reform and opening-up, Peihua Women’s University was re-established, committed to expanding access to higher education for women, revitalizing Shaanxi’s economy, and contributing to the nation’s modernization efforts. In the new era, Peihua leverages platforms such as the Shaanxi Women/Gender Research and Training Base and the National Gender Equality Advocacy and Training Base, establishing itself as a leading center for research and promotion of women’s education. These initiatives not only serve as bridges for international exchange but also provide a high-level, broad-spectrum stage for advancing women’s quality education.

Xi’an Peihua University has a long-standing tradition of women's education, with its roots tracing back to the Beijing Women's Higher Normal School. The university’s founders, including Wu Yunfang, Zhu Youmei, and Li Jinghuan, all graduated from the Weaving Department of Beijing Women's Higher Normal School, as recorded in The Annals of Shaanxi Province, Volume 63 (Part II), Education Annals, Page 1425. In 1924, Beijing Women's Higher Normal School was upgraded to the National Beijing Women's Normal University. In 1931, it was officially merged into Beiping Normal University, which later became the prestigious Beijing Normal University. Influenced by Huang Yanpei’s vocational education philosophy and inspired by the essence of women's education from top institutions, Wu Yunfang and others collaborated with renowned Shaanxi educators such as Liang Wufeng, Shi Yuqin, Luo Duanxian, and Ji Zaifeng. According to The Annals of Shaanxi Province, Volume 63 (Part II), Education Annals, Pages 1424-1425, these individuals were all graduates of Beijing Higher Normal School, the predecessor of Beijing Normal University. Together, they initiated and established the Shaanxi Women's Vocational Education Promotion Association, which founded Xi’an First Women's Civilian Vocational School. As noted in The Annals of Xi’an Education, Page 216, this institution was the first junior women’s vocational school in Xi’an to be established by a social organization. From this perspective, the initiators, founders, and most board members of the First Women's Civilian Vocational School were alumni of Beijing Normal University. The legacy of women's education from Beijing Women's Higher Normal School has been passed down and flourished for over a century through Peihua University.

In 1928, Xi’an First Women's Civilian Vocational School was established on Liangfu Street, Xi’an.

Xi’an First Women's Civilian Vocational School welcomed female students who were out of school, unemployed, or displaced due to famine, and even women escaping forced marriages. There were no restrictions on background, age, or literacy level—any woman willing to learn could enroll. The school focused on vocational education, equipping students with practical skills for earning a living. Initially, the school offered courses in dyeing and weaving, as well as sewing. Later, additional programs such as knitting, wool weaving, and shoemaking were introduced, all tailored to women's learning needs. The curriculum combined half-day classroom instruction with half-day practical training, allowing students to acquire one or two vocational skills within six months. According to The Annals of Shaanxi Province, Volume 63 (Part I), Education Annals, Page 375, the school operated a finished products sales department with divisions for business operations, logistics, and finance. Under the guidance of master technicians, students participated in hands-on training, with 35% of business courses dedicated to practical experience, while sewing, dyeing and weaving, and hosiery courses were evenly split between theory and practice. Page 440 of the same volume records that 13% of graduates found employment at the school or other vocational institutions, while 39% set up their own workshops using self-made machinery. Students developed exceptional craftsmanship, producing high-quality work that gained social recognition. The school's success was widely acknowledged, and it was ranked among China’s "Top Ten Excellent Vocational Schools." On July 13, 1935, with official approval from the Ministry of Education, the school was renamed Shaanxi Private Peihua Women's Junior Vocational School of Dyeing and Weaving. It continued its mission of empowering women, advocating for gender equality, and enhancing their livelihood skills, opening new opportunities for women oppressed by feudal traditions.

In 1935, the school was renamed Shaanxi Private Peihua Women's Junior Vocational School of Dyeing and Weaving and relocated to Houzaimen, Xi’an.

At a time of national crisis, the faculty and students of Peihua took concrete actions to support the War of Resistance, demonstrating their deep patriotism. According to The Annals of Shaanxi Province, Volume 63 (Part II), Education Annals, Page 1519, on September 18, 1936, more than 4,000 students from Xi’an High School, First Middle School, Second Middle School, Women's Normal School, Midwifery School, Peihua School, and Leyu Middle School gathered at Revolutionary Park for a rally and parade commemorating the fifth anniversary of the "September 18 Incident." Records from the Peihua Women's Vocational School Incident Report in the Xi’an Municipal Archives indicate that from December 1937 to mid-1938, Peihua faculty and students supported the war effort in various ways. They went to the train station to bid farewell to Sichuan troops heading to the front lines. The entire school adopted a new schedule, attending classes in the morning and engaging in production activities in the afternoon. They collectively made 500 cotton quilts for the Shaanxi Province Wounded Soldiers Relief Association, and students from the sewing department sewed 30 coats for injured soldiers. On January 28, 1938, the school organized faculty and students to participate in the January 28 Memorial Rally at Revolutionary Park and the Shaanxi Anti-Invasion Propaganda Assembly at the city stadium. In May of that year, Peihua Women's Junior Vocational School repurposed its sales office to temporarily house wounded soldiers returning from the anti-Japanese battlefield at Zhongtiao Mountain, Shanxi. The students also voluntarily sewed 100 towels, meticulously embroidering the words "Bathing in Blood for the Resistance" on each, which were then distributed to the injured soldiers to boost their morale and encourage them to recover and return to the battlefield. To further support the war effort through production, Peihua collaborated with the Cooperation Committee under the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Construction to promote a new weaving method. The school assigned seven graduates, including Guo Junying, to set up training centers in Xingping, Xianyang, and Liquan, where they taught local women how to operate foot-powered looms, replacing the traditional hand-weaving method. This initiative significantly improved weaving efficiency and quality, bolstering production in the rear and providing vital support for the frontlines.

Xi’an Peihua University has a profound and enduring connection with many outstanding women. The school’s founders, including Wu Yunfang, Li Jinghuan, and Zhu Youmei—graduates of Beijing Women’s Higher Normal School—transplanted the institution’s educational model, teaching methods, and fine traditions into Peihua, instilling a strong foundation for cultivating exceptional women. After Peihua expanded and was renamed, it received support from prominent figures such as Xie Baozhen, Fu Xuewen, Yu Fengzhi, Zhao Yidi, and Soong Mei-ling. These influential and distinguished women played significant roles in society at the time, bringing prestige and momentum to Peihua’s growth and continuity. Their contributions further enriched Peihua’s legacy of nurturing outstanding women. In 1984, Xi’an Peihua Women’s University was established, marking the revival and continuation of Peihua’s legacy. At the suggestion of Xi Zhongxun, then a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat, Fu Xuewen was appointed Honorary Chairwoman of Peihua Women’s University, further elevating the university’s reputation and influence. Additionally, Professor Zhu Chuzhu, a representative of the senior faculty members who relocated with Xi’an Jiaotong University and a board member of Peihua’s first three sessions, contributed significantly to Peihua Women’s University’s development. Peihua’s deep ties with dedicated educators continued in 1952 when Jiang Weizhi, at the age of 26, was appointed Vice President of the school. His wife, Hou Huizhi, formed an unbreakable bond with Peihua, standing by Jiang’s side and actively participating in the university’s development. Together, they witnessed and contributed to Peihua’s growth, making foundational and historic contributions. Hou Huizhi devoted her life to Peihua, dedicating her efforts to the school’s advancement and leaving a lasting impact on its legacy.

After China's reform and opening-up, Xi’an Peihua Women’s University was reestablished under the leadership of President Jiang Weizhi and other prominent educators. The revival aimed to revitalize Shaanxi, expand women’s access to higher education, and cultivate more female talents. It also sought to empower women to play a vital role in the modernization of China and contribute significantly to Shaanxi’s economic growth and social development. The reopening of Peihua Women’s University provided more educational opportunities for women, enabling them to actively participate in Shaanxi’s economic and social progress. The institution also played a crucial role in later initiatives, such as the Western Development Strategy, further reinforcing the impact of women in regional and national development.

Major General Fan Ming, a founding member of the People's Republic of China, former Executive Vice Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference, and Honorary Chairman of Peihua University’s Board of Directors, presented graduation certificates to the university’s graduates.

Peihua Women’s University adopted a selective admission process for female students, choosing the best candidates from that year’s college entrance examination. This decision created a unique pathway for producing talented individuals to contribute to the nation’s development. By providing more opportunities for women to receive higher education, Peihua Women’s University also opened up more employment opportunities for female intellectuals, contributing to the cultivation of female engineers, economists, writers, doctors, judges, and more. The re-establishment of Peihua Women’s University was also a significant exploration and practice in promoting the comprehensive development of education and the diverse cultivation of talent. Peihua Women’s University became one of the first institutions in the country to implement the Party’s policy of "multi-level, multi-form education," setting the stage for the expansion of private higher education in Shaanxi.

Female students from Peihua Women’s University’s Fashion Design program showcased their designs, demonstrating their creativity and talent in the field.

In 1988, Peihua Women’s University students participated in the Shaanxi Provincial University Student Artistic Gymnastics Competition, organized by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Higher Education. The students achieved impressive results, winning second and fourth place in the competition.

After the establishment of Peihua Women's University, it was widely praised, and there was a steady stream of visits and exchanges at home and abroad. on September 12, 1984, Mr. Sadao Yoshida, a professor of Shiga University in Japan, came to visit the university to learn about the situation of the opening of the first women's university in China. on October 11, Mrs. Yvette Routy, the French Minister of Women's Rights, accompanied by relevant personnel of the All-China Women's Federation and the Provincial Women's Federation, visited the university and went into the classroom and canteen to learn about the students' learning and living conditions. On April 20, 1985, a women's delegation of German-Chinese Friendship Association came to visit the school. The head of the delegation, Ms. Margaret, and the four people accompanying her were warmly received by the school. Ms. Margaret heard Vice Principal Jiang Weizhi say, “We are trying to reverse this situation and increase women's learning opportunities. With knowledge, they will be able to fight against men. Improve the quality of women, the real emancipation of women plays a decisive role, the law alone is not enough! After the presentation, he said excitedly, “Good! Great! This is a progressive conception, the first and most progressive view we have heard in China on this occasion.” According to page 1364 of the Education Journal, Volume 63 (Volume2) of the Provincial Journal of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Peihua Women's University received a total of 103 batches of international friends from 1984 to 1990, including 14 batches in 1984, 16 batches in 1985, 46 batches in 1986, 11 batches in 1987, 6 batches in 1988, 4 batches in 1989, and 6 batches in 1990. Peihua has received one group of international friends after another, and has become an important window for publicizing and presenting the China women's cause to the outside world.

Mrs. Yvette Ruti, Minister of Women's Rights of France, visited the school accompanied by relevant leaders from the All-China Women's Federation and the Provincial Women's Federation

（1984）

In order to inherit the female education gene and build the school's educational characteristics, the first women's school in Shaanxi Province was established in 2010, focusing on the cultivation of high-quality women. After 15 years of exploration, it has built a complete teaching system of women's education. A total of 11 courses are offered in the women's class, 2 public limited courses of “Gender Education Module” and 6 public self-selected courses, which are open to the whole university. It has developed the core courses “Gender Education”, “Women and Law” and “Women's Mental Health”, and implemented the Peihua model of “Professional Education + Women's Quality Education + Vocational or Skill Cultivation” by means of seminars, observation and teaching, dual cultivation and differential enhancement, and adopting the lecture-style, modularized, practical and innovative curriculum and teaching forms, which effectively serve all majors and provide a good opportunity for the students to learn more about gender education and to have a better understanding of gender education. The school adopts a lecture-style, modularized, practical and innovative curriculum and teaching format to effectively serve the comprehensive quality improvement of female students in various majors. The university also regularly organizes activities such as the “Lecture Hall on Women's Cultural Quality” and the “Cultural Festival for Female Students”, as well as rich and colorful on- and off-campus practices, so as to make women's/gender education more practical.

Inauguration of the Women's School

The university has entered into strategic cooperation with the Shaanxi Provincial Women's Federation, and has been granted three provincial scientific research platforms, including the “Shaanxi Provincial Marriage and Family Service & Research Base”, and has set up the Institute of Women's Education, which has organized 77 lectures on women's cultural qualities from 2010 to May this year, with a cumulative total of 15,400 attendees. Some of the contents of the popularization activities were written by the office of the provincial government's Working Committee for Women and Children in the final evaluation report of the Shaanxi Women's Development Plan and the Shaanxi Children's Development Plan. The key scientific research project “Research on the Path of Promoting the Basic State Policy of Gender Equality in Shaanxi Colleges and Universities---Taking Female Gender Education in Shaanxi XX College as an Example”, which took 2 years to complete, has been finalized by the Provincial Women's Federation and the Provincial Federation of Social Sciences. The vice-chairman of Shaanxi Provincial Women's Federation for the research project proposal report approved: Xi'an Peihua University in promoting gender equality into colleges and universities to actively explore, the courage to practice, the formation of useful experience, for the province to provide a vivid example. It is hoped that it will seriously summarize and strengthen research in the future, so as to provide a model that can be learned and copied for the province to promote gender equality into colleges and universities. The school is inheriting the female genes while promoting the development of high quality and high level direction of women's education and research in our school.

Inauguration of the Institute of Women's Education of Xi'an Peihua Univeristy

The Women's Federation system has always been an important source of strength and backing for Peihua's development. Fang Ling, the then deputy director of the Shaanxi Women's Federation, served as the vice-chairman of the first board of directors of Xi'an Peihua Women's University, personally witnessed and participated in the preparation and establishment of Peihua Women's University, and contributed to the early development of Peihua Women's University.

In 1984, school principal Wang Hongji and vice principal Jiang Weizhi visited Comrade Xi Zhongxun, and on December 8th, they also visited Comrade Zhang Guoying, Vice President of the All-China Women's Federation and First Secretary of the Secretariat. Comrade Zhang Guoying expressed gratitude to the veteran experts and professors for their contribution to the Four Modernizations, and expressed her intention to introduce foreign investment into the operation of the Peihua Women's University. She also expressed her desire to visit the teachers and students of Peihua Women's University.

Initial library of the school funded by the Canadian Embassy in China

To commemorate this friendly donation, Peihua Women's University has created a marble commemorative plaque in the library

In July 1985, Fang Ling, deputy director of Shaanxi Women's Federation and vice chairman of Peihua Women's University, recommended an international aid project to the university, namely, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing funded Peihua Women's University with 30,000 RMB for the construction of the library of the university (the library has a collection of more than 20,000 books and more than 120 kinds of newspapers and periodicals). President Jiang Weizhi, as a token of appreciation, made a marble commemorative plaque, which is placed in a prominent position in the library as a symbol of Sino-Canadian friendship.

In November 1992, Ms. An Baoqin, Director of the Outreach Department of the All-China Women's Federation, accompanied officials from the Canadian Embassy in China to visit Peihua Women's University. From Fang Ling, Deputy Director of Shaanxi Women's Federation, serving as Vice Chairman of the first Board of Trustees of Peihua Women's University, to Zhang Guoying, Vice Chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, who has shown her concern and support for the university, to the Canadian Embassy, which has funded the construction of the library and other international cooperation projects, the Federation of Women's Federations has always been working hand in hand with the university to write a brilliant chapter together.

In recent years, Peihua has signed multiple strategic cooperation agreements with Shaanxi Women's Federation and has been awarded multiple honorary titles and base titles, gradually becoming an important base for cultivating female talents in Shaanxi.

On October 24, 1984, at the first opening ceremony of Peihua Women's University in Xi'an, Fang Ling, Deputy Director of the Provincial Women's Federation, emphasized in her speech that the establishment of Peihua Women's University had made contributions to improving the status of women and reforming the professional structure.

Application Report for the Book Raising Project of Xi'an Peihua Women's University, for the Construction of the Women's University Library.

In November 1992, members of the Canadian Embassy in China visited Peihua Women's University, accompanied by Ms. An BaoQin, Director of the Outreach Department of the All-China Women's Federation, accompanied by Mr. Jiang Weizhi (third from the right).

On June 26, 2010, Xi'an Peihua University established the first specialized women's school in Shaanxi Province.

In March 2014, Zhang Ying, Deputy Director of the Provincial Working Committee for Women and Children and Deputy Director of the Provincial Women's Federation, awarded our university the “Basic State Policy on Gender Equality Propaganda and Training Base” license.

In September 2017, Xi'an Peihua University and the Shaanxi Women's Federation held a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation.

Yue Lan, Vice President of Xi'an Women's Federation, awarded Xi'an Peihua University with the title of “Women's Entrepreneurship Cultivation Demonstration Base”.

On October 21-22, 2018, the 4th National Seminar on Employment and Entrepreneurship for Female College Students was held in Xi'an Peihua University.

Yao Wenjing, Vice President of Xi'an Peihua University, received the honorary title of “38 Red Flagbearer” of Shaanxi Province in 2018 for her outstanding contribution to women's education, and was honored on the spot.

On June 3, 2021, the Filial Piety Project-Youth with Sunset Ten Year Public Welfare Ceremony & the Red Journey to Yan'an to Awaken the Original Heart were held at Peihua in Xi'an. Zhen Yan, former Vice President and Secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, President of the China Marriage and Family Research Association, and Chairman of the China Women's Development Foundation, had a discussion with Jiang Bo, Chairman of Peihua.

On November 14, 2022, Wang Yu'e, Secretary of the Party Group and Chairwoman of Shaanxi Provincial Women's Federation, on behalf of the Provincial Women's Federation, signed the second round of five-year strategic cooperation agreement with Xi'an Peihua University and unveiled the plaque of the newly-established Xi'an Peihua University Women's Federation.

On September 24, 2023, Liu Yuelian, Vice President of Xi'an Peihua University, and Banli, Vice Dean of the Women's School, were hired as consultants for the Shaanxi Women's/Gender Studies Expert Pool.

On November 14, 2023, Lin Yi, Vice Chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, Secretary of the Secretariat, and Vice Chairman (and concurrently) of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, visited Peihua to conduct research on women's education work.

On October 23, 2024, Dang Jie, a first-class inspector of the Provincial Women's Federation, and Jiang Bo, chairman of the board of Xi'an Peihua University, signed the Cooperation Agreement on the Marriage and Family Service and Research Base in Shaanxi Province and unveiled the plaque for the base in the presence of everyone.