In 1941, Mao Zedong’s forces founded the Institute for Nationalities in Yan’an, which became the Central Ethnic Institute in Beijing in 1951 (also known as the Central Institute for Nationalities). This institute was part of a broader, nation-wide effort to train officials from “ethnic minority” groups, and was one of many such schools across China. These schools later became full universities. For example, in November 1993 the Central Ethnic Institute became the Minzu University of China.