The Yunqi campus of the Westlake University in Hangzhou's Xihu district can house 120 independent laboratories. [Photo/CFP]

Located in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, Westlake University is China's first private non-profit research-oriented university.

The university's predecessor is the Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, which was founded in Hangzhou in December 2016 under a joint proposal by seven famous scientists, including Shi Yigong, former vice-president of Tsinghua University, Chen Shiyi, former president of Southern University of Science and Technology, Pan Jianwei, vice-president of University of Science and Technology of China, and Rao Yi, president of Capital Medical University.

The Ministry of Education officially approved the establishment of Westlake University in February 2018. The university's president is Shi Yigong and its honorary chair is Nobel laureate physicist Chen-Ning Yang.

The founding ceremony of Westlake University was held in Hangzhou on Oct 20, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The university, which aspires to become one of the world's top research institutes, consists of the School of Life Sciences, the School of Science, and the School of Engineering.

The university is expected to enroll 5,000 students - 3,000 postgraduates and 2,000 undergraduates – and have a faculty of 300 professors and 900 postdoctoral fellows by 2026.

According to the university's official website, its academic focus is on natural and life sciences and future-oriented engineering.

A rendering of the Yungu campus of the Westlake University. The campus is expected to accommodate 300 independent laboratories when it becomes operational by the end of this year. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]