Affluent in semiotic resources and containing great communicability, Chinese university emblems have yet to attract much academic research. Drawing on studies of social semiotics, typographic landscaping and multimodal concepts, this paper explores the linguistic and social dimension of meaning-making practice and the entanglement of Chinese and Western elements in Chinese university emblems. Examining 156 university emblems in mainland China, this research developed a denotational inventory of Chinese university emblems. Adopting Kress and van Leeuwen's grammar of visual design, this research also scrutinised the connotative meaning of the visual contents. The findings show that the ensemble of meaning-making is achieved by the orchestration of three pivotal frameworks: synchronisation of various semiotic modes, influence of the social reality of China and imbuement of domestic and foreign ideologies. Consequently, the neo-Chinese style of modern Chinese university emblem design is constructed. With its integrative approach, the nuanced and comprehensive analysis of this research will generate fresh insights into the exploration of the social semiotic and typographic landscaping of university emblems in China.