Wa Ying College was founded as Wa Ying Middle School (Chinese name 華英中學) by the Methodist Church in 1913 in Foshan of Guangdong, China. The school quickly established itself as one of the three most prestigious middle schools in pre-World War II southern China. During the War, the school relocated to Hong Kong in Tung Chung Fort, Tung Chung, Lantau Island and later moved to Shatin. It returned to Foshan after the War. In 1951, after the Communist Party of China came into power in mainland China, the Foshan-based Wa Ying Middle School was confiscated by the state owing to the People's Republic of China's atheist Communist ideology, under which religious organizations-run schools are not allowed to operate. The Foshan No.1 Middle School (廣東省佛山市第一中學; pinyin "Guangdong sheng Foshan shi Diyi Zhongxue", abbrev 佛山一中; pinyin "Foshan Yizhong"), was formed after the authorities merged the former Wa Ying Middle School with the public run Foshan Middle School (佛山中學; pinyin "Foshan Zhongxue") and sited at the former Wa Ying Middle School.