Sheng Xuanhuai
In 1895, Qing banking tycoon and educator Sheng Xuanhuai gained approval from the Guangxu Emperor to establish the Nanyang Public School in Shanghai, China. This comprehensive institution included the first normal school on the Chinese mainland. Since 1949, many former normal schools in China have developed into comprehensive research universities. As of 2012, Beijing Normal University and East China Normal University, both members of the national government's Project 985 program, have been ranked the top two among the mainland Chinese universities that originated as normal schools.