About Us

The Chinese University of Hong Kong[b] (CUHK) is a public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), commonly referred to as CUHK, is a collegiate public research comprehensive university in Hong Kong. Established in 1963 through the merger of Chung Chi College, New Asia College, and United College, it is the first research university in Hong Kong and the only one adopting a college system.

The university was formed in 1963 as a federation of three existing colleges. The first of these, New Asia College, was established in 1949 by anti-Communist Confucian scholars from Mainland China amid the revolution there. Among the founders were Ch'ien Mu, Tang Junyi, and Tchang Pi-kai. Curriculum focused particularly on Chinese heritage and social concerns. The early years of this school were tumultuous, with the campus relocating several times between rented premises around Kowloon. Academics there were often self-exiled from the mainland and they struggled financially, with students sometimes sleeping on rooftops and teachers foregoing pay to sustain the college. Funds were gradually raised and the school moved to a new campus in Kau Pui Lung, built with the support of the Ford Foundation, in 1956.

Following the Communist revolution and the breakdown in relations between China and the United States at the 1950 outbreak of the Korean War, all Christian colleges and universities in the People's Republic of China were shut down. Chung Chi College was founded in 1951 by Protestant churches in Hong Kong to continue the theological education of mainland churches and schools. The 63 students of its first year operating were taught in various churches and rented premises on Hong Kong Island. The college moved to its present location in Ma Liu Shui (i.e., the present CUHK campus) in 1956. By 1962, a year before the founding of CUHK, Chung Chi had 531 students in 10 departments taught by a full-time faculty of 40, excluding tutors.