Mainland home to Asia's top two universities, Times rankings show

Chinese institutions dominated the latest edition of the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings, with Tsinghua and Peking University retaining their hold on the top two positions for the second year running.

There are also more universities from the Chinese mainland in the top 50 (15) and top 100 (31) than from any other country or region.

Of the 91 Chinese mainland universities appearing in the rankings, the majority have maintained or improved their positions from last year, which is seen as "an impressive feat" by the publication, given increased competition as a result of an additional 62 universities appearing in the table compared to 2020.

Tsinghua University holds the top position for the third consecutive year, after first claiming it in 2019, while Peking University maintains its hold on second place. The rankings contained a record 551 universities, up 13 percent on the 489 that were ranked in 2020, from 30 economies.

National University of Singapore took third place and University of Hong Kong in fourth, keeping their 2020 positions. Singapore's Nanyang Technological University moved into the top five after finishing sixth last year.

The Chinese mainland is also the best represented country or region in the top 50 holding a record 15 positions, as Central South University (44th), and South China University of Technology (joint 50th) moved into the group.

Record 31 positions

Chinese mainland universities secured a record 31 positions in the top 100, and 65 of the 81 universities that ranked in 2020 (80 percent), maintained or improved their previous positions in the table.

The Chinese mainland saw a record 91 universities qualify for the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021, second only to Japan, which had 116. A total of 72 universities across Asia made their debut this year, with 10 achieving positions in the top 200.

Ten institutions from the Chinese mainland qualified for the first time, the second highest number of debutants by any country or region in this year's ranking, with India having 14 debutants. Zhejiang Normal University (89th) is one of only two debutants to rank in the top 100, alongside Iran's Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, which came in at 45th spot.

Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at Times Higher Education, said: "After becoming the first ever country or region to secure the top two positions in the rankings last year, it is an excellent achievement for the Chinese mainland to do so again. While we have witnessed consistent progress from Chinese mainland's institutions in these rankings, it is remarkable to see the overwhelming majority of its institutions improve or maintain their previous positions with record numbers at the top end of the table," he added.

Baty points out the Chinese mainland saw the most debutants qualify in 2021, which he said highlights the desire to showcase the quality of its higher education system on the Asian and world stage.

"It will be interesting to see what happens in Chinese mainland over the coming years, and how its universities adapt to the post-COVID world," he said.