Mainland Gaokao Direct‑Admission Route: Early Batch · Code 81002 · English 120 Threshold

Module: 02 Admissions · Sub‑file: mainland-gaokao-direct-admission Last updated: 20 June 2026 This article covers The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) — the main campus at Ma Liu Shui, Shatin. It does not cover the independently established and independently admitting The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Admissions data is highly time‑sensitive; all figures are labelled with the academic year they refer to. Always defer to the latest official announcements.

In a sentence: Since 1998, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin campus) has recruited students independently through the Early Batch (提前批) of the National College Entrance Examination (gaokao), under the Ministry-of-Education-assigned institutional code 81002^※. In 2025 the planned intake is roughly 400^※ (across all 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions), with a mandatory English-subject score of 120^※ (out of 150). Admission is based solely on raw gaokao scores (bonus points excluded), across four broad categories — Arts, Science, Engineering, and Business. There is no written test and no interview at any stage. To date, over 6,700^※ mainland undergraduates have been admitted through this channel.

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# Are the Shatin Campus and the Shenzhen Campus Two Completely Separate Tracks?

The most common confusion surrounding CUHK’s mainland admissions is the distinction between the main campus and the Shenzhen campus. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen was established in 2014 with Ministry of Education approval as an independent institution in Shenzhen — it is a stand‑alone legal entity registered on the mainland under the Regulations on Chinese‑Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools, and it recruits through the regular gaokao batch (not the Early Batch). Its institutional code, tuition fees, and degree certificates all form an independent system. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin campus), by contrast, is approved by the Ministry of Education for Early Batch recruitment, uses institutional code 81002, awards Hong Kong degrees, and its qualifications are accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework. The two institutions’ admissions channels, timelines, scholarship policies, and degree‑awarding systems are entirely separate — every piece of data in this article refers exclusively to the Shatin campus.

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# What Does Admissions Code 81002 Mean, and Where Do You Find It When Filling In the Application?

81002 is the national gaokao institutional code that the Ministry of Education has assigned to The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin campus) for the unified admissions system, and it has remained unchanged since the Early Batch was first folded into the gaokao framework. According to CUHK’s official admissions website (simplified‑Chinese version)^※, mainland candidates do not need to submit any application materials directly to CUHK. Once gaokao results are released, within the time window specified by each province’s examination authority, locate “The Chinese University of Hong Kong” or the code “81002” in the Early Batch section of the application portal, select the relevant broad category (see the section below), and submit. CUHK does not accept supplementary applications outside the Early Batch window. The CUHK Admissions Office’s official WeChat public account also uses this code as its handle (cuhk81002), making it easy for candidates to search and verify official information.

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# How Does the Early Batch Mechanism Work? Does It Affect One’s Main‑Batch Application?

CUHK’s mainland admissions are designated by the Ministry of Education as part of the Early Admission batch^※ (referred to by provincial examination authorities as “the Early Batch”), with offers finalised before the main undergraduate batch. An Early Batch result does not affect a candidate’s subsequent participation in the main undergraduate batch (本科一批 or 本科批) — even if a candidate is not admitted by CUHK through the Early Batch, their main‑batch application is not consumed.

The method of offer‑dispatch varies by province:

According to the CUHK Admissions Office, which model a province uses in any given year is determined by the provincial education examination authority’s official Application Guide for that year. CUHK does not participate in any supplementary admission round^※ (i.e., it does not accept students through post‑offer clearing). Selection is based purely on raw gaokao scores (excluding all policy‑based bonus points). There is no written test and no interview, and there is no score‑based preference gap between first‑ and second‑choice programme categories — after admission, students are placed into one of the broad categories, then choose a specific major later during their studies.

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# The English 120 Threshold: Why a Separate Hurdle for One Subject?

The primary language of instruction in Hong Kong is English. The vast majority of CUHK’s undergraduate programmes are taught in English, especially in Medicine, Science, Engineering, and Business. To ensure that mainland students possess the English foundation necessary for their studies, the CUHK Admissions Office stipulates^※ that mainland gaokao candidates must achieve an English‑subject score of 120 (out of 150) before their application will be considered — a bar that is higher than that of an ordinary undergraduate programme. Scholarship applicants face an even higher English requirement: all three tiers of the entrance scholarship require an English score of 130^※ or above.

This means mainland students face two distinct English‑score benchmarks:

The CUHK Admissions Office further specifies that when multiple candidates share the same overall gaokao score, the one with the higher English‑subject score is given priority — meaning the English score serves a dual function as both a qualifying bar and a tie‑breaker.

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# How Do the Broad Categories Work? Which Schools and Programmes Does Each Cover?

In 2025, CUHK’s mainland admissions follow a broad‑category^※ model: roughly 80 undergraduate programmes across the University’s eight faculties are consolidated into four admissions categories, and candidates apply by category rather than by individual programme:

Three new programmes are offered to mainland students for the first time in 2025: Public Humanities, Human Movement Science and Health Studies, and Materials Science and Engineering^※. After enrolment, students select a specific major from within their broad category during the first or second year of study, following the procedure set by each faculty. For the rules on major selection and the full list of programmes by faculty, see programme-catalogue.md in the same directory.

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# Intake Size in 2025: About 400 Places — Which Provinces?

According to the official 2025 CUHK admissions plan published in May 2025 on Sunlight Gaokao (CHSI)^※, CUHK’s planned mainland undergraduate intake for 2025 is approximately 406 students, covering all 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions nationwide. Province‑level quotas are published by each provincial education examination authority. The scale is broadly in line with 2024’s intake (roughly 400–413 students), reflecting the level at which it has stabilised after recent years of expansion: as reported by China Education Online in June 2024^※, following a policy adjustment by the Hong Kong SAR government, CUHK increased its planned mainland intake by about 100 places in 2024, bringing it to roughly 400.

The exact province‑by‑province allocation for any given year is determined by the provincial examination authority; CUHK does not separately publish the provincial breakdown. Province‑level quotas become available through each province’s admissions platform before gaokao results are released.

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# What Band Do Historic Admission Cut‑off Scores Fall Into?

The Early Batch has no nationally uniform admission score; the actual cut‑off in each province is determined by the applicant pool that year. The table below summarises the 2024 minimum admission scores and corresponding rank‑band estimates for CUHK’s Shatin campus in a selection of provinces (sources: Daxuejiayou’s 2024 admissions data compilation^※ and Beijing Gaokao Online’s 2024 cut‑off summary^※):

Note: The figures above are the 2024 minimum offer scores (as published by provincial education examination authorities or compiled by media outlets; the official year‑end data remain definitive). Because the difficulty of provincial examinations and the composition of the candidate pool differ from province to province, cut‑off scores cannot be compared across provinces. In a given province in a given year, a lower score for the History stream than for the Science stream does not imply that admission in that stream is less competitive — one must refer to the corresponding provincial rank band. The official 2025 cut‑offs will be published only after that year’s admission cycle concludes.

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# When Did CUHK Start Admitting Mainland Gaokao Students? How Many Have Been Admitted Cumulatively?

According to CUHK’s official admissions website (simplified‑Chinese version, “Points to Note” page)^※, The Chinese University of Hong Kong began admitting mainland undergraduates in 1998, making it one of the first comprehensive research universities in Hong Kong to systematically recruit mainland students through the unified gaokao channel. Over nearly three decades, as stated in the latest version of the University’s official website, a cumulative total of over 6,700 mainland students have studied at CUHK at the undergraduate level (this figure refers to the total number of students who have studied at the University, not the total number of graduates across all years).

Note: Official statements at different points in time have used different cumulative figures — China Education Online’s June 2024 report^※ stated “nearly 6,000 have been admitted,” and the November 2025 admissions plan^※ stated “over 6,300 have been admitted.” The numbers increase with each annual update; this article uses the latest figure displayed on CUHK’s official admissions page, “over 6,700.”

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# How Are Scholarships Awarded, and What Are the Thresholds?

CUHK offers three tiers of entrance scholarship for mainland gaokao candidates. No separate application is required — assessment is automatic, based on the applicant’s offer‑making score and English‑subject score. Source: Sunlight Gaokao admissions plan announcement (2025)^※ and China Education Online summary (2025 edition)^※:

A further “Multi‑faceted Excellence Scholarship” is available: students who, while at senior‑secondary school, won a first prize or gold medal in the national finals of a nationwide competition may receive an additional HK$50,000 after enrolment. For renewal conditions and detailed rules for all scholarships, see tuition-and-scholarships.md in the same directory.

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# What About Mainland Gaokao Candidates Who Hold “Local Student” Status?

Some mainland candidates hold Hong Kong resident status — for example, holders of a One‑way Permit, or dependants under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme / Top Talent Pass Scheme who were under 18 at the time of first approval. These candidates must still apply through the Early Batch via their provincial education examination authority — in other words, they have Hong Kong resident status, but their admissions channel remains the mainland gaokao unified‑recruitment route. According to CUHK’s admissions guidance, such admitted students are charged tuition and accommodation fees at the local‑student rate (substantially lower than the non‑local rate). If their residency status changes during their studies, they must inform the University immediately.

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# What Are the Core Differences from the JUPAS Track?

The mainland gaokao Early Batch and the Hong Kong local JUPAS track are two completely separate systems; their places do not compete. The core differences are set out below:

Mainland‑household‑registration students who hold international qualifications such as IB or GCE A‑Levels without taking the gaokao normally apply through CUHK’s international admissions or Non‑JUPAS channels. They are not eligible for the Early Batch gaokao mechanism. For details, see Section 4 of undergraduate-admissions.md in the same directory.

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# Contact Information and Official Channels

• Official website (Simplified Chinese): https://admission.cuhk.edu.hk/sc/application/mainland-gaokao/
• WeChat public account: CUHK Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (account: cuhk81002)
• Email: [email protected]
• Hong Kong hotline: (00852) 3943 8946
• Mainland‑dedicated lines: 13068‑470068 / 13068‑470069

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# Data Reliability and Known Gaps

• Hard data (taken directly from authoritative sources): Institutional code 81002; English 120 / 130 thresholds; intake of ~400; all 31 provinces covered; four broad‑category divisions; three scholarship tiers with stated amounts (HK$66,000, top 10, top 50, top 0.5%); first intake in 1998; cumulative total of over 6,700 students having studied at the University — all drawn from CUHK’s official admissions website or from official admissions plans re‑published via Sunlight Gaokao / China Education Online.
• Media‑compiled data: 2024 provincial minimum admission scores are drawn from education‑information platforms such as Daxuejiayou and Beijing Gaokao Online; the ultimate authority remains official provincial education examination authority announcements.
• Not yet confirmed: The exact allocation of places by province for any given year (disclosed only through each province’s examination‑authority platform; CUHK does not publish a separate breakdown); cohort admission‑score percentiles by broad category over multiple years (not centrally released by the University); the specific number of places under any joint‑training initiative between the Shenzhen campus and the Shatin campus. These information gaps are flagged in the body text and no speculative inference has been added.

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