FROM July 8, China’s top two universities — Peking and Tsinghua — will open for visits, according to the universities’ social media accounts. Visitors can tour the campuses and well-known sites from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. after making reservations through the universities’ mini-apps beforehand.

The two universities added that they have set up special channels for group tours of elementary and middle school students, saying their group leaders can contact the universities in advance and tour the campuses based on relevant procedures.

Previously, the two universities were limited to students, faculty, alumni and their relatives, while the general public could not enter the campus unless for business.

Similarly, Wuhan University in Hubei Province will also reopen its campus for visitors starting from July 8. The university opened the campus for two weeks in March, allowing the public to tour the campus and enjoy the renowned cherry blossoms, but then closed again to the public after the blooming season.

Some universities in Shanghai, such as Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, adopted the approach in May and June.

For the majority of time during the last two or three years, most universities adopted rigorous closed management policies to contain the COVID epidemic. As the impact of COVID wanes, many people, especially the general public, have called for universities to open up again as pre-pandemic times.

In fact, during the past few months, some visitors have gone through “underground” channels to enter the campus.

According to a report by news website ThePaper.cn, some people have been offering paid services to enter the Wuhan University premises. They would change the profile pictures in the university’s mini-app to the visitors’ to “cheat” at the gates and let them enter. The university responded that such actions are not allowed and they would also check the profile photo when they exit the campus.

(China Daily)