The site was made a college campus by Hangzhou mayor Lin Qi in 1897.

[1] Puci Temple (Chinese: 普慈寺; pinyin: Pǔcí Sì) was a Buddhist temple built by the monk Sijing (Chinese: 思净) in the Shaoxing era (1131–1162) of the Southern Song dynasty.

[2] Six years after the disaster, the scholar-officials of Hangzhou, led by Lin Qi, the then-mayor of Hangzhou, re-utilised the site of the temple to establish Qiushi Academy and Military Academy.

It had a study duration of five years, and taught courses including Chinese, English, mathematics, history, geology/geography, physics, and chemistry.

In 2005, the land was purchased by the Hangzhou municipal government from the Chinese Medicine College.