Deng Hongbo introduces the history of Yuelu Academy to the visitors. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

No one can deny the cultural significance of Changsha, the capital of Central China's Hunan province, as it became the first Chinese city to be recognized as a UNESCO Creative City in media arts in 2017.

In the ancient time, Changsha also played an irreplaceable role in China's cultural exchanges as the Yuelu Academy here served as an institute for higher education since its establishment in 976.

The Yuelu Academy in the west of Changsha, founded in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), has been an academic institution for more than 1,000 years. The academy, which focuses on Confucian teaching, is said to be the oldest academy of its type still in existence in the world.

At its prime period when Zhu Xi, a renowned philosopher and politician in the Song Dynasty, delivered lectures here, more than 1,000 students attended his classes. The academy existed through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and was transferred to Hunan Institute of Higher Learning in 1903.