Tsinghua University and Peking University, followed by Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University, are the top five universities in China, according to a Chinese university ranking released in Beijing on Tuesday.

The 2015 Best Chinese University Ranking report is based on nine indicators that evaluate more than 1,000 higher education institutions across the Chinese mainland, including aspects of teaching and learning, research performance, as well as social services.

The report was compiled and released by independent higher education information organization ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, on basis of the research database of Scopus, a bibliographic database containing abstract and citations for academic journal articles.

Liu Niancai, chairman of the SRC, said the report employed the indicators that reflect the core competitiveness of universities.

“This is a gold standard practice that is aligned with other leading world university rankings reports,” he said.

The report also found that from 2009 to 2013, Zhejiang University was the highest publisher of research papers, followed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, Peking University and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.