Founded by Anhui Sanlian Investment Group in 1997, Anhui Sanlian University is the first private university in Anhui Province. It is a provincial undergraduate university authorized by Chinese Ministry of Education to confer bachelor's degree. Its establishment has been documented in Annals of Anhui's 40 Years of Reform and Opening-up, as well as the Chronicles of New China’s 70 Years in Anhui. ASU is currently a project construction unit for master's degree authorization in Anhui Province and a project unit for peak cultivation disciplines in Anhui Province.