Duke Kunshan University (DKU), a joint venture by Duke University in the US and Wuhan University, unveiled its 16-hectare campus in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, on Monday.

The first phase of the DKU campus, which is located on an 80-hectare site in Kunshan's Yangcheng Lake Science Park, includes an academic center, conference center, and student and faculty residences.

Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the campus boasts traditional Chinese elements blended with advanced educational technology in a spacious, modern setting.

Tim Etherington, a principal with Gensler, said: "We wanted to create a campus where learning happens everywhere, and with everyone. Our master plan, architecture and landscape positively influence attitudes and learning inside and outside the classroom."

DKU chancellor Liu Jingnan said the campus is an extraordinary setting befitting a world-class university.

"DKU is quickly establishing itself as a center of global scholarship in China and home to academic research institutes that address local and global challenges," he said.

"DKU is not just another university, but one that aims to accomplish things that neither Chinese nor American universities can achieve alone."

Receiving establishment approval from China's Ministry of Education in September 2013, DKU has welcomed its first students for the fall semester of 2014.

The university offers master's degree programs leading to Duke University degrees in medical physics, global health and management studies, as well as a one-semester program for undergraduate students from universities in China and around the world.

DKU executive vice-chancellor Mary Brown Bullock said the university's mission is to become a new liberal arts university that addresses the changing needs of global higher education.

"DKU is a learning community in which international and Chinese students and faculty are living and studying together on a residential campus," she said.

"The spacious and modern campus facilities support DKU's innovative learning strategies, diversity of learning styles, and campus community environment."