Zhi Qin Building is the earliest female dormitory building in Nankai University and was donated by Chen Zhiqin, a Tianjinese, in 1929. Chen Zhiqin (1875-1947) read poetry and books in his childhood, learned English for a long time, and was proficient in accounting. He was a comprador of a foreign firm in his early years, and then worked in the British Customs in Tianjin until his retirement. He was an optimistic man who was ready to stand for justice. He was a close friend of Zhang Boling, both of whom served on the board of directors of Tianjin Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). Chen Zhiqin was concerned about Nankai’s growth and was enthusiastic about Nankai’s affairs. He once served as an advisor of the Business School of Nankai University. The younger generation of Chen’s family also studied in Nankai schools.

Nankai University began to enroll female students in the second year after its establishment. When it was just established, there was a small number of students.

Therefore, classrooms and dormitories were in the teaching building. After the summer vacation, the number of students increased, and the number of female students also went up compared with the previous years. Nankai University thus rented a private house outside the campus as the female dormitory building.

In 1923, after Nankai University moved to the new campus in Balitai, the female dormitory building was temporarily located in two houses in teacher’s residence in Baishu Village. By the end of the 1920s, the number of students in the University had exceeded 400, and the number of female students also reached several dozens. It was imminent to construct a dedicated female dormitory building. After hearing this news, Mr. Chen Zhiqin generously donated 30,000 yuan to Nankai University to build a female dormitory building in 1929. 

It was situated west of Xiushan Hall and was named as “Zhi Qin Building” after its completion in 1930.Zhi Qin Building is a small building in the shape of a rectangular box, 40 meters in length and 20 meter in width, covering an area of about 800 square meters. It has a recess in the back of the building. Mr. Chen Zhiqin was not a prominent figure or wealthy businessman. Although his family was wealth-off, its property came from the accumulation of his high income and strict self-discipline, and diligent and simple life style. 30,000 yuan was a great burden for him and took him several times to raise funds. But it was such a small building that solved the urgent needs of Nankai University. The University assigned a special female instructor to manage the female dormitory in cooperation with the Female Students’ Council. Due to its strict management and its geographical separation from the male dormitory building, Zhi Qin Building once was dubbed the “Forbidden City”.

At that time, in front of the Zhi Qin Building grew clusters of peach, which became a unique landscape of the campus. There was also a touching story about teachers and students’ patriotism and resistance against Japanese army. After the outbreak of the September 18th Incident, the Japanese stepped up their aggression against China. The Japanese soldiers stationed in the Haiguang Temple in Tianjin went to Nankai Campus to cause troubles almost every day. Learning that Zhi Qin Building was the female dormitory building, the Japanese soldiers harboured malicious intention and was eyeing on the building, threatening to plant sakura, the Japanese national flower, around the building. President Zhang Boling immediately consulted the resourceful Professor Duan Maokai about the countermeasures and planted peach blossoms around the Zhi Qin Building overnight. After the Japanese found it, they were unwilling but could not do anything.