University of Hong Kong asks tourists to register before visiting

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) will soon require tourists to register before entering campus, following complaints from students and staff about an increasing number of visitors coming to the school to take photos and sightsee.

From May, all tourists must register in advance to visit the campus Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., the university said in a statement on Friday. However, visits outside these periods are permitted without registration.

Under the rules, which the university called the ‘tourist flow management system’, tourists can only book visits once every fortnight. To complete registration, full names and the last four digits of their identity documentation must be provided.

The university said people invited to campus, approved service providers and “community users” do not need to pre-register.

Successful registrants must present the QR code generated by the registration system and their travel document to enter the campus. When HKFP logged into the registration system on Sunday evening, all time slots on May 2 and 3 were already fully booked.

The guidelines state that tourists should not enter “restricted areas” without permission, such as libraries, student residences, faculty buildings and office spaces.

All tourists were also asked to obey Hong Kong laws and instructions from university staff, and to respect the privacy of staff and students by not taking photos without their permission.

“Adhere to social norms, protect the campus environment, vegetation and cultural remains, and do not disrupt the normal teaching, research and campus activities of the university,” HKU wrote in the registration instructions.

New tourist trend

Hong Kong’s universities have seen an increasing number of tourists since the city reopened its borders following the relaxation of Covid-19 rules early last year. Mainland tourist numbers have recovered faster than international visitors, with many looking to social media for suggestions on where to visit.

The 114-year-old HKU has become a hotspot for tourists, popularized by posts on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu detailing walking routes around the university and where photos can be taken. Online photos showed large groups of people lining up to pose for a photo in front of a wall featuring the university’s logo and historic main building.

The tourist trend had led to complaints from students and staff of the university. A survey of a group of students, completed by almost 900 students and employees of the HKU, showed that more than 90 percent agreed that there were too many visitors on campus, local media report. The results were published last month.

The questionnaire showed that 22 percent of those interviewed hoped that HKU would ask visiting parties to register in advance.

On Xiaohongshu, some people posted photos of HKU with large crowds of tourists. They said the campus was too crowded and asked tourists to think before going.

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