Tsinghua University (sometimes abbreviated as THU) is a research university located in Beijing, China, and one of the nine members in the C9 League. The institution was originally established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua College" and had been renamed several times since then: from "Tsinghua School" which was used one year after its establishment, to "National Tsinghua University" which was adopted three years after the foundation of its university section in 1925. With its motto of Self-Discipline and Social Commitment, Tsinghua University describes itself as being dedicated to academic excellence, the well-being of Chinese society and to global development. In both domestic and international university rankings, Tsinghua University has consistently been ranked as one of the top institutions of higher learning in mainland China along with Peking University.