Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, formerly known as Central South Institute of Physical Education, was founded in 1953 and is located in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province

Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, formerly known as Central South Institute of Physical Education, is one of the first batch of independent full-time colleges of higher learning in New China, founded in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province in 1953, moved to Wuhan City, Hubei Province in 1955, and renamed Wuhan Institute of Physical Education in 1956. The school is located on the shore of the beautiful East Lake, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a beautiful campus environment, advanced infrastructure, profound cultural heritage, strong faculty and distinctive school characteristics. The school was originally a college directly under the State General Administration of Sports, and in September 2001, it was changed to a college jointly established by the State General Administration of Sports and the Hubei Provincial People's Government. 

The school covers an area of 1820.6 acres, with 11,023 full-time undergraduates, 1,177 graduate students and 26 international students. At present, the school has 19 teaching units including 15 colleges, 2 departments and 2 schools, and 26 undergraduate majors, including 3 national-level characteristic majors, 1 national-level professional comprehensive reform pilot project, 4 provincial-level brand majors, 6 provincial-level professional comprehensive reform pilot projects, and 6 undergraduate projects of Hubei Provincial Colleges and Universities Strategic Emerging (Pillar) Industry Talent Training Program. It has built 3 national-level high-quality resource sharing courses and video open courses, 22 provincial-level high-quality resource sharing courses, video open courses and high-quality courses, and approved 2 provincial-level teaching teams. 

The school has 9 provincial and ministerial key disciplines in Hubei Province and the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, among which, physical education has been rated as a provincial key advantageous discipline in provincial universities in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", and has participated in the national university discipline level evaluation twice, ranking third in the country, and is the only discipline in Hubei Province that has entered the top three in the country. Psychology is the only provincial key characteristic discipline approved in the same discipline of provincial colleges and universities in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan"; Journalism and Communication, Music and Dance are the key cultivation disciplines of provincial universities in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan". In September 2015, "Physical Education and Health Promotion" and "Internet Sports" were selected as the cultivation projects of the Advantageous and Characteristic Discipline Group and the Advantageous and Characteristic Discipline Group of the Provincial Universities in Hubei Province respectively. 

The school's postgraduate education began in 1960 and is one of the earliest units in the country to train graduate students in physical education. At present, it has 1 first-level discipline authorized for doctoral degree in physical education, 5 first-level disciplines authorized for master's degree, 3 professional master's degrees, and a total of 26 doctoral and master's degree authorization points, making it one of the sports colleges with the largest training scale and the largest number of professional points for master's students in China. In 2006, the university was added as a doctorate-granting institution by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. In 2010, the school obtained the right to confer doctoral degrees in the first-level discipline of physical education, and obtained the qualification of recommending outstanding fresh undergraduate graduates to study for master's degree without examination. In 2012, the school was approved as a postdoctoral research station in physical education. 

The school has a strong teaching force, with a group of experts, scholars and well-known coaches who have great influence at home and abroad. There are nearly 400 full-time teachers and coaches with senior professional titles, 33 experts who enjoy the subsidies of the State Council and the Hubei Provincial Government, 2 national outstanding teachers, 1 member of the Physical Education Discipline Evaluation Group of the State Council, 2 members of the Physical Education Evaluation Group of the National Social Science Fund, 1 national "New Long March Assaulter", 3 national "38 Red Flag Bearers", 6 national sports honorary medals and outstanding contribution awards, 6 "100 Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Professional and Technical Talents Program" of the State General Administration of Sports, and 7 people selected for the "Chutian Scholars" program. There are 10 experts with outstanding contributions in Hubei Province and 4 high-level talents in the new century. 

At present, the university has 6 provincial and ministerial key laboratories and key research bases (centers), and 2 provincial collaborative innovation center platforms. He has undertaken many research projects of the National Science and Technology Support Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Social Science Foundation, the Olympic Key Research Projects, and the provincial and ministerial key scientific research projects, and has won a number of scientific and technological achievement awards and national invention patents. The academic journal "Journal of Wuhan University of Physical Education" (Chinese core journal) sponsored by the school is a journal funded by the National Social Science Fund and selected by the "Famous Column Project" of the Ministry of Education; The Journal of Physical Education for Adults also has a great influence in the country. 

The school's competitive sports characteristics are outstanding. At the Seoul Olympic Games, student Zhang Xianghua won 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal, ending the history of China's rowing event and missing the Olympic medals, creating a precedent for sports college students to win medals in the Olympic Games, and the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China awarded the school the "Sports Contribution Award". Since 1988, the school has trained and transported students and student athletes to win 208 medals in the three world competitions (Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup), including 142 gold medals; The three major Asian competitions (Asian Games, Asian Championships, and Asian Cup) won 133 medals, including 93 gold medals. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the students and student athletes trained by the school won a total of 6 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, and a fifth and two seventh results. The school has cultivated a number of outstanding athletes such as Zhang Xianghua, Yang Wei, Cheng Fei, Duan Jingli, Lv Huihui, Sun Yanan, etc., who have won glory for the country in the Olympic Games and major world competitions, and have made outstanding contributions to China's "Olympic Glory Plan". 

The school attaches great importance to foreign exchanges and cooperation, and has established good cooperative relations with nearly 60 educational and sports institutions at home and abroad, and has carried out extensive cooperation with nearly 30 provincial and municipal sports bureaus and industry sports associations across the country, and has achieved substantial cooperation results. In 2012, the Asian Gymnastics Federation authorized the school to establish the Asian Gymnastics Training Center, and in 2014, the International Gymnastics Federation authorized the school to establish the world's only international gymnastics academy. In addition, the university also has the qualification to recruit foreign students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the foreign cooperation covers language students, undergraduates, master's students and doctoral students. 

The school has always regarded the quality of education and teaching as a lifeline, constantly updated the educational ideology, strengthened the teaching infrastructure, promoted the reform of education and teaching, and improved the quality of education and teaching. 

The school's motto is "Bravery, Sincerity and Perseverance, Learning to Think and Act". 

The school's philosophy is to "integrate sports, science and technology, and humanities education, and integrate moral, cultural, and professional qualities". 

Facing the future, the university will be guided by the major sports strategies and major educational decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and strive to build itself into a high-level characteristic university with first-class sports disciplines, first-class sports specialties and first-class sports programs in China.