XuetangX was first launched in 2013 as part of the university’s strategic plan for online education, although it hosts courses not just from Tsinghua but also from other universities around China and has developed partnerships with institutions abroad such as the Open University in the UK.

“The scale, scope, and depth of online education in Chinese higher education are unprecedented”

Its international version has an English language interface and there are plans to add Russian, Spanish, French and Japanese versions soon.

“In order to overcome these difficult times faced by all countries in the world, China wholeheartedly supports the introduction of an international version of a Chinese higher education online teaching platform,” said director of the Ministry of Education’s higher education department, Wu Yan.

“By doing so, China can contribute to the fight against the epidemic in the sphere of higher education.”

In addition to MOOCs, XuetangX offers live broadcasts, certifications and online degree classes.

More and more students in China have either returned to school or expect to do so shortly following the suspension of all in-person classes due to the coronavirus outbreak. Almost 1,500 colleges and universities switched to online learning.

“The scale, scope, and depth of online education in Chinese higher education are unprecedented, setting off a ‘learning revolution’ and breaking important new ground in the field of higher education,” the university noted on its website.