File photo: Tongzhou Normal School. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Sept 10 marks the annual Teachers' Day in China. On this day we can look back at Zhang Jian, who made significant contributions to China's educational business.

Zhang (1853-1926) was a renowned industrial magnate, educator, and scholar born in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. He funded over 370 schools, which formed a relatively complete modern educational system.

File photo: Women's Normal School in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Many Nantong natives were educated in these schools, which include primary and secondary schools, universities, and vocational schools.

In 1902, Zhang built the first school, Tongzhou Normal School, which was also the first normal school in China and is now called Nantong Normal School. The school recruited students from nearby counties at the beginning and then accepted students from other provinces including Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu.

File photo: Students at Linggong School, a drama school in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Three years later, he built a normal school exclusively for women and before the school was merged into Nantong Normal School, 2,181 students had graduated from it.

To satisfy the demands of interns from the first graduates of the normal school, Zhang founded a primary school affiliated to Nantong Normal School.

The Nantong native also set up schools for theatrical performers and persons with reduced vision and hearing as well as schools to train vocational skills.