Abstract: Yan’an Academy of Natural Sciences was the first science and engineering university founded by the Communist Party of China. In the course of running the school in just five years, the Academy of Natural Sciences explored the laws of education, and formed a unique path for the CPC to develop higher education. First, the organic balance between politics and science was achieved, under the premise of emphasizing “politics” and guaranteeing the relatively independent status of science. Second, the effective combination of theory and practice was realized, and the scholastic education was replaced with the three-in-one teaching model of “teaching-research-production”, trying to solve the problem of sustainable development of higher education under limited conditions. Third, the benign interaction between the elite and the public was realized, by actively learn from the common people while carrying out the popularization movement. These school-running concepts provide an important historical reference for inheriting the red gene today and taking root in China to create a world-class university with Chinese characteristics.