‘Very picturesque’: hundreds of mainland Chinese tourists kick off ‘golden week’ break with visit to University of Hong Kong
- At least five tourist groups, each with 30 to 40 people, take photos in front of popular red brick wall displaying name and crest of HKU between 11am and 12pm
- ‘This is the finest university in Hong Kong. I did my job as a parent to bring [my children] here to see and feel,’ visitor says
Hundreds of mainland Chinese tourists have kicked off their five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday with a visit to Hong Kong’s oldest university, despite heavy rainfall dampening the mood for exploring some century-old buildings on the campus.
Groups of Mandarin-speaking visitors, mainly families with children and young couples, flocked to a red brick wall displaying the name and crest of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) at its campus in Pok Fu Lam on Wednesday morning.
A Post reporter observed at least five groups, each with 30 to 40 people, taking photos in front of the wall between 11am and 12pm.
Some tour guides had to yell out to be heard amid the large crowds.
The bench opposite the popular photo-taking spot was also busy as it was occupied non-stop by visitor after visitor.
At least six security personnel were deployed for crowd management.
One guard, who declined to give his full name, said the visitors started to arrive as early as 9am and more than 100 people had gathered at one point.
“The number of visitors is three times higher than those who visit on a regular Sunday,” he added.
Laxy Wang, who works in the financial sector in the northern province of Hebei, was busy taking turns with his girlfriend while posing in front of the wall.
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“We saw the university’s pictures on Xiaohongshu, which are very picturesque. We wanted to see if that is true. Now it turns out it is really as beautiful as it is in the pictures,” Wang said, referring to the mainland’s Instagram-like social media platform.
The couple spent half an hour there before heading to the 112-year-old Main Building, another must-see attraction as per recommendations on Xiaohongshu.
Hu Yijing, a junior school teacher from Hunan, succeeded in securing a photo-taking spot. Adding to her joy, no one was near her when the pictures were taken.
She joined a 300-strong tour group organised by her school principal, who wanted his fellow teachers “to learn and see what constitutes a world-class university”.
The 24-year-old added that many of her colleagues brought families, hoping the young children would be inspired by the “excellent academic vibe”.
Sharing the same hope was Zhang Qiong from Jiangxi province. She and her husband brought their two children – aged seven and 16 – on a half-day visit to the university.
“This is the finest university in Hong Kong. I did my job as a parent to bring them here to see and feel it,” she said.
Asked whether she wanted to study at the university, her 16-year-old daughter replied a little hesitantly: “I certainly would like to if I can pass the exams.”
The family added they chose to visit on Wednesday to avoid the crowd control measures the university was set to impose on campus starting Thursday. The measures would include reservations for guided tours.
A Post check on the university’s reservation system found that the following three days – from Thursday to Saturday – were fully booked. No crowd control measures will be imposed on Sunday.
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Alex Cao, a student majoring in computer science, said the number of tourists was not as high as he had expected.
They bothered him to an extent as some entered self-study rooms, where students were preparing for the final exams, he said.
“I do not want zero tourists. I want the number of tourists to be limited. That will be a win-win for all of us,” he said.
Asked whether he thought the crowd control measures would be effective, the 21-year-old said he was doubtful as there was more than one entrance to the university.
“How can the university guarantee that tourists will only enter through one entrance?” he said.
The Post reporter observed that two of the university’s main entrances, both near MTR stations, had not yet set up any facilities for checking the reservation codes which would be used from Thursday.
