Zhejiang University will be among the world list of Class-A universities by 2017, Zhang Junsheng, university committee secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), announced Monday.

Zhang admitted that the university, which is based in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, still lags far behind top international universities, like Harvard, Cambridge.

Zhang Junsheng brief journalists on Zhejiang University.

He added that a first-class university should have several great disciplines, which calls for the leadership of first-class members in the field.

The university has hired several renowned experts from abroad to head various departments, noted Zhang, adding that he hopes their experience and knowledge will help Zhejiang University obtain its goal sooner.

All such efforts, according to Zhang, have paid off. Currently, Zhejiang University has 24 national-level key disciplines.

Zhang believes that after 10 or more years, these key disciplines will match international standards.

As one of the top universities in China, Zhejiang University has 11 fields of study: philosophy, literature, history, education, science, economics, law, management, engineering, agriculture and medicine.

Journalists listen to introductions about the unversity.

Currently, the university has 107 disciplines for undergraduate studies and can confer masters degrees in 225 programs and doctoral degrees in 138 programs. There are 11 national-level key laboratories, two national-level engineering research centers and three national engineering technology centers.

With its pleasant climate, picturesque surroundings and a favorable academic atmosphere, Zhejiang University is an ideal place to teach, research and learn. With its six campuses -- Yuquan, Xixi, Huajiachi, Hubin, Zhijiang, and Zijingang -- the university now occupies a total area of 3,200 mu (213 hectares) and a floor space of 1,720,000 square meters. In 2008, the campus will be extended to 8,700 mu (579 hectares) via an investment of 8.2 billion yuan (US$991 million).

At present, there are 41,000 full-time students at Zhejiang University, including 30,000 undergraduates, 8,000 masters students and 3,200 PhD candidates. There are also nearly 38,000 students enrolled in vocational education courses.

Among its 9,000-plus staff members and workers, 10 are from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, seven from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and more than 1,000 professors and 2,400 associate professors.

With a floor space of 58,000 square meters, the university library has a collection of more than 5,620,000 volumes of books. In addition, the university has six affiliated hospitals that provide various medical services to people from all over Zhejiang Province.

Zhejiang University was founded in 1897 and was first called Qiushi Academy. Thirty-one years later it was renamed National Chekiang University. During the readjustment of China's Tertiary Education System in 1952, Zhejiang University was divided into several mono-disciplinary colleges, while some of its disciplines were merged to form other universities.

In September 1998, a new Zhejiang University was established through the amalgamation of the four former individual universities -- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou University, Zhejiang Agricultural University and Zhejiang Medical University -- all located in Hangzhou.

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