The history of Wuhan University of Technology can be traced back to 1898. In the spring of 1898, Zhang Zhidong, then Governor-General of the Hu-Guang Regions, proposed to "set up a school of technology inside the Bureau of Westernization." In the same year, the Hubei Institution of Technology was established with 4 main subjects : Civil Engineering, Machine Manufacturing, Dyeing and Weaving, and Physics and Chemistry.
At the dawn of the New China, all needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Three universities joined forces with one mission to support the talent training and scientific research for three major industrial sectors: building materials, transportation, and automobile. Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan Transportation University and Wuhan Automotive Polytechnic University came into being to speed up the construction of the socialist industrial mechanism and educational system. They are the three important components of the present Wuhan University of Technology.
The former Wuhan University of Technology was affiliated to the former National Infrastructure Commission and the National Building Materials Industry Bureau. It developed with the establishment of Chinese construction industry system. In 1996, WUT entered the national “211 Project” and was then directly administered by the Ministry of Education in 1998. The university has laid a solid foundation for the rise of the building materials industry by providing talents and scientific support.
Wuhan Transportation University was affiliated to the former Ministry of Transportation. It was born when the national shipping industry was in urgent need of construction after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. From inland waterway to land-water and river-sea transportation, it has developed into a comprehensive university for the transportation industry.
Wuhan Automotive Polytechnic University was affiliated to the former Ministry of Machinery Industry and was born to cater to the needs of agricultural mechanization and of the construction of automobile industry system. It is an important base for the development of science and technology and personnel training of the domestic automobile industry.
The record of history is vivid and well-established. The development, changes and progress of the university are engraved with patriotism and ambition of generations, of teachers and of students to serve the country. It carries the immortal legend and glory of the ancestors from the beginning to where we are today, and lays a solid foundation for the university’s successive endeavors.
With China’s implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, and with the historical opportunity of building a world-class university, we entered into a new era. On 27th May 2000, the former Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan Automotive Polytechnic University, and Wuhan Automotive Industry University, which have all made great contributions to the establishment of China’s industrial system and the development of three major industrial sectors, merged into Wuhan University of Technology.
