The Military Engineering College and the Later University
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Military Engineering College was established in Harbin and held its opening ceremony on 1 September 1953. Commonly known as Harbin Military Engineering College, it had Chen Geng as president and political commissar. On 26 August, Mao Zedong signed instructions to the college that identified training people capable of mastering and advancing technology as an urgent requirement for modern national defense.
Harbin Engineering University traces its educational origins to 1953, although its present name and organization developed later. In 1970, the naval engineering department formed the core of Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute on the original campus. The name Harbin Engineering University followed in 1994. This institutional lineage began with the creation of a comprehensive military engineering college in the 1950s.
Wartime Needs and Preparations
The Korean War exposed shortages in equipment operation, maintenance and technical personnel. Acquiring aircraft, ships and other equipment also required engineers who could maintain and use them. In March 1952, the Central Military Commission approved a report proposing a military engineering college. Chen Geng subsequently returned from Korea to lead preparations. Soviet advisers headed by Orekhov helped develop its organization and teaching plans.
Teachers, equipment and money were limited. Building a complete higher technical institution for each military service was impractical, so the plan concentrated resources in one comprehensive college. It established five engineering departments covering the air force, navy, artillery, armored forces and combat engineers. These departments were intended both to meet immediate training needs and to provide foundations for future institutions serving the respective branches.
Premises in Harbin and Teachers from Across China
Harbin offered practical advantages: distance from the defense front, northeastern industries suitable for internships, teachers available through institutions such as Harbin Institute of Technology, and buildings previously used by Harbin Medical University. In summer 1952, Chen Geng accompanied Soviet advisers on inspections of several cities before confirming Harbin. Existing premises were used while new teaching facilities were planned.
Chen personally promoted the recruitment of professors and specialists nationwide. The initial priority was foundation courses for the first two years, alongside preparations for specialist teaching. Interviews compiled by Zhao Yanghui record a proposed first group of 62 professors and associate professors, drawn from universities, industry, research organizations and the armed forces. Experienced professors working with newly trained teaching assistants helped address the shortage.
Enrollment Within Available Resources
Early entrants included officers selected from military units, while teaching assistants were also recruited through military selection. Recruitment proceeded during construction and preparation. Before the formal establishment ceremony, the college already had to organize the arrival, study and accommodation of students and teachers. Engineering education required an academic foundation; military experience did not replace coursework.
Funding and equipment constrained enrollment. In a plan submitted to Mao on 15 May 1953, Peng Dehuai noted the extensive equipment required, the shortage of qualified professors and insufficient financial provision. He proposed reducing the original intake and planning for 800 graduates a year. Mao approved. This was a planned training capacity, reflecting both urgent needs and the resources the state could supply.
References: [4]
A Four-Year Start and Formal Teaching Procedures
The 1953 curriculum drew on Soviet military engineering institutions but compressed a longer training process into four years. It combined foundational theory, specialist study, industrial internships and examinations. Teaching groups performed work comparable to academic teaching and research sections. Soviet experts taught assistants first; after practice lectures, the assistants taught students. This arrangement simultaneously delivered courses and trained teachers.
The shortened program soon encountered difficulties: extensive content, crowded timetables, uneven student preparation and weak transitions between courses. In 1955, following Orekhov’s recommendation, the college submitted a revision that the Central Military Commission approved. Students entering that September began a five-year program. Teaching arrangements evolved through repeated adjustments between urgent training demands and students’ capacity to learn.
References: [2]
From Teaching Preparation to Research
Research was organized progressively after classes began. In 1954, Orekhov advised Xu Lixing, head of academic and scientific affairs, to establish research procedures and involve students in scientific and technical activities. From 1955, the college introduced research regulations and rewards. It held a science and technology research conference in 1956; that April, a cadet military science and technology association was established for academically strong students.
These measures added experiments, research exchange and independent work to engineering education. Soviet assistance brought advisers, curricula, textbooks and teaching administration, with some practices adapted to China’s teachers, students and military organization. The naval engineering department that later remained in Harbin developed on this shared foundation of teaching, research and facilities, becoming the main component of Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute.