qian was born in hangzhou, the capital of zhejiang province, 180 km southwest of shanghai. he left hangzhou at the age of three when his father obtained a post in the ministry of education in beijing. qian graduated from the high school affiliated to beijing normal university, with lu shijia as classmate, and attended national chiao tung university (now shanghai jiaotong university) in 1934. there, he received a degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on railroad administration. he interned at nanchang air force base.