Despite Project 211, Chinese universities are still behind their foreign counterparts. (Photo : Google)
Peking University, one of China's major college institutions, formally started on Tuesday the construction of its new academic building named after Karl Marx, a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist, the Global Times reported.
The building is named after Marx in commemoration of the famous philosopher's 197th birthday.
The eight-story building will be the first in the world to be named after Karl Marx, Sun Daiyao, associate dean of Peking University's School of Marxism, said.
Sun added that the building's construction aims to boost the development of Marxism--a political, economic and social theory of Marx--in the country and to intensify the school's political contribution.
A total of 100 million yuan ($16.1 million) was allocated for the construction of Peking's Marx Center.
Baoshang Bank is one of the project's major donors.
The building will showcase the university's "Marxism Collection" as a part of Peking's "Six Marx Projects." The collection will include the consecration of the world's Marxism conference as well as the creation of a website which discusses about Marxism studies.
"It's necessary for scholars to compile a grand collection on Marxism classics as the nation's guiding ideology faces challenges in today's modern world," Qi Xingfa, associate professor with the Department of Political Science at East China Normal University, told the Global Times.
The Peking University officials announced that the construction of the building will conclude by the end of 2016.
