The High School Attached to Northeast Normal University is one of the most academically prestigious secondary schools in China, feeding the top universities at a rate that draws students from across the northeast and beyond. The campus occupies a substantial site and includes dormitory accommodation for the boarding students who come from outside Changchun.
The school building itself, partly occupying a Manchukuo-era structure on the site, is not accessible to casual visitors, but the campus and gate area give a sense of the institutional weight of China's elite educational system. The contrast between the colonial-era architecture and its current function — producing the examinees who will staff China's professional and administrative classes in the 2030s — is one of Changchun's more quietly interesting juxtapositions.