At the northeastern foothills of Jinhua Mountain, beside Jianchuan Ancient Town, stands Jianchuan No.1 High School, one of the principal secondary schools in Jianchuan County. The institution traces its educational lineage to Jinhua Academy, founded in 1570 during the Longqing reign of the Ming dynasty. For centuries, the academy played an important role in local education before being reorganized as the State-run Higher Primary School in 1905 following the abolition of the imperial examination system.

The modern history of the school began in 1938 with the establishment of Jianchuan County Junior Middle School on the historic campus. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the school resumed classes in September 1949 as Jianchuan County People's Middle School, was renamed Yunnan Province Jianchuan Middle School later that year, and became Jianchuan's first complete secondary school when its senior secondary division was established in 1951. During subsequent administrative reorganizations, the institution was temporarily renamed Jianchuan County Fourth Middle School before reverting to Jianchuan Middle School in 1961. It officially adopted the name Jianchuan No.1 High School in 1973, became a county key middle school in 1979, and was accredited as a Level 1 Grade 3 Complete Secondary School in Yunnan Province in 2013.

The campus occupies the historic site of Jinhua Academy, preserving a continuous educational tradition that spans more than four centuries. A major expansion took place in the 1950s with the construction of a two-storey, palace-style U-shaped brick-and-timber teaching building, completed in 1954. In recent decades, the campus has continued to develop, forming an integrated layout of teaching, sports, and residential facilities while maintaining its historical association with the former academy.

Today, Jianchuan No.1 High School serves approximately 2,100 students with a faculty and staff of about 190. Continuing the legacy of Jinhua Academy, it provides both junior and senior secondary education and has received numerous provincial and prefectural honors for educational quality and campus development. Its distinguished alumni—including linguist Zhao Yansun, physicist Su Zhixin, forestry scientist Zhang Haiqiu, engineer Yang Jizao, and educator Su Lin—reflect the school's enduring contribution to education and public life in Yunnan.