IN THE LIST of China's Top 100 Universities in 2015, published by Wuhan University's Research Center for China Science Evaluation, Peking University came top with a perfect score, serving as the standard points. Beijing News questioned the rankings on Tuesday:

Students from Peking University and Tsinghua University have long been recognized as the leading talents in China. Although the cult of worshipping top schools has been cooling, children who are admitted to the country's top universities are still highly admired and considered to be an honor to their families.

The reputations of first-class elite universities are formed by their histories of excellence and their present progressive efforts. Yet university rankings are only for reference.