Entrusted by the Ministry of Construction, the Training Center was established in 1982 and relies on Tongji University’s tremendous academic strengths. The Center aims at providing an on-job training program for leaders engaged in city construction, urban planning administration, and technical management from all city levels across the entire country. More than 10,000 trainees have completed their training program since its establishment. Additionally, other countries, such as Vietnam, also have sent their officials to the Center for training.

The Center has established good communication with many famous universities and training units worldwide, including, l’Ecole de Chillot, Sciences Po, GTZ of Germany, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the American Institute of Architects. These relationships have generated opportunities for exchanges among cities within China and abroad to collaborate on city management and technology issues. Through training programs, domestic trainees can gain a better understanding of updated urban planning theories and the latest approaches and urban management strategies. Foreign trainees can learn development specifics of Chinese city construction while finding many opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and conduct academic research.

Training programs are extensive; post Training programs are offered for Mayors, Directors of Urban Planning Bureau, town heads and potential city construction leaders. Special Topic Training programs are offered, such as: Historic City Conservation, Landscape Area Conservation, Transportation Planning, Urban Planning and Design. Vocational Training programs, such as, National Certified Urban Planners Exam, ICAD Certified Environment Design Exam are also offered. Field Trip Training programs are available and include site visits to France, Germany, Australia, Russia, and the United States. Diploma-Orientated Programs are offered, such as: Masters’ Degree of Engineering and an Advanced Course for Postgraduate students. In addition, the Training Center also provides training programs upon request for Personal Bureaus, Organizing Departments, and Urban Construction Bureaus of each locality.