What is "nankai"

Nankai is a famous family of schools in China founded by Zhang Boling (张伯苓) (1876–1951) and Yan Fansun (严范孙) (1860–1920). The schools include:

• Nankai High School in Tianjin (天津南开中学) (1904).
• Nankai University in Tianjin (南开大学) (1919).
• The Nankai Women's High School (1923), Tianjin Second Nankai High School (天津第二南开中学) (present).
• The Nankai Elementary School in Tianjin (天津南开小学) (1928, ruined in WW2).
• Nanyu High School (1935), Chongqing Nankai Secondary School (重庆南开中学) (1936).
• Chongqing Nankai Elementary School (重庆南开小学) (1937).
• Shuguang Middle School in Zigong (自贡蜀光中学) (1937).
• Nankai University Affiliated High School (南开大学附中) (1954).

Nankai District (南开区, Nán-kāi Qū) in the city of Tianjin is named after Nankai schools. The flagship school, Nankai University, and the original Nankai High School are still located there. Today, Nankai University is considered one of the most prestigious universities in China. Nankai High School is also considered an elite college-preparatory school.

In Japanese, Nankai means "southern sea". It may refer to:

• Nankai , a series of schools in China
• Nankai District , Tianjin, China
• Nankai Electric Railway , a railway company in Japan
• Nankai Hawks , a former professional baseball team in Japan
• Nankai Broadcasting , a broadcasting company in Japan
• Nankai Trough , a submarine trough south of Japan
• Nankai megathrust earthquakes , a series of earthquakes that occur in and around the Nankai trough