Chinese university tops Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2019

China's Tsinghua University claims the number one spot in the Times Higher Education (THE)'s Asia University Rankings 2019, becoming the first university on the Chinese mainland to top the rankings revealed by THE Thursday.

Tsinghua University replaces the National University of Singapore, which led the table since 2016 and drops one place to second, thanks to a large boost in the former's score for teaching environment and significant rises in its scores for citation impact and international outlook.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology now tops the Special Administrative Region of China's representatives after climbing two places to third thanks to an improvement in its industry income and international outlook scores.

The University of Hong Kong remains in the fourth place. Peking University drops two places to fifth, a consequence of relative declines in its research income and industry income.

The prestigious ranking of THE, a weekly magazine based in London, comprises more than 400 universities -- expanded from over 350 last year -- from 27 countries and regions. Chinese mainland claimed 72 positions overall in the rankings, up from 63 last year.

"China is once again one of the main success stories of the Asia University Rankings, reflecting the country's large and sustained investment in the sector over many years," said Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at THE.

According to THE, which reports specifically on news and issues related to higher education, its World University Rankings judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

The Asia University Rankings use the same calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments.