Central South University (CSU; 中南大学) is a public university in Changsha, Hunan, China.Funded and overseen by China's Ministry of Education, it is a member of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction initiatives.[4] CSU was established by approval of the State Council on 29 April 2000 by merging three separate universities: Hunan Medical University (HMU), Changsha Railway University (CRU) and Central South University of Technology (CSUT).[5][6] Central South University (CSU) is a national key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China and a member of the Double First Class University Plan, former nationally prestigious Project 211 and Project 985.[25] CSU covers an area of 392.4 hectares with campuses located across the Xiang River at the base of the Yuelu Hill close to its neighbor Hunan University.