Tsinghua University tops 600 mainland universities in 2018 according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), one of the four globally recognized university ranking systems, reports shobserver.com.

The analysis also shows that Beijing ranks first among the cities in China boasting top quality post-secondary institutions, with 24 of the top 100 universities located in the Chinese capital. The province of Jiangsu ranks 2nd with 17, while Shanghai sits 3rd with 10 of the top 100 schools.

The ranking uses four main indicators, including talent training, scientific research, contribution to society and internationalization. Other ranking factors include college entrance exam scores, post-school employment rates, quality and quantity of thesis and commercialization of scientific achievements.

Social donation revenues have also been included as a factor for the first time this year in the 2018 ranking to evaluate the social reputation of a university's talent cultivation.