In the summer of 1936, educator Zhang Boling, the founder of Tianjin Nankai High School, went to Chongqing and built a private school, Nanyu Secondary School (南渝中学; Nanyu means South Chongqing). After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Tianjin Nankai High School was heavily damaged by Japanese air raids. Many students and teachers fled to southwestern China. Many went to Chongqing, and joined Nanyu Middle School, while others went to Zigong and joined Shuguang High School, another high school under Zhang Boling's management. In December 1938, Nanyu Middle School changed its name to (Private) Chongqing Nankai Secondary School. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, its name was changed to Chongqing No. 3 Secondary School. In the 1980s, it reverted to the name Chongqing Nankai Secondary School.