Odds & Ends: Publishing, Libraries, Arts & Culture, Journals, Continuing Education, IT, and Campus Culture

# 1. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press (CUHK Press)

According to the CUHK Press website^※, the Press traces its origins to the University Publishing Center established in 1968. It began operating as an independent academic publisher in 1977, with Dr. Francis K. Pan as its first director. The Press positions itself as a "world-class bilingual (English-Chinese) academic publisher", covering fields that include history, philosophy, literature, translation, contemporary art, political science, sociology, anthropology, education, and the history of medicine.

The same source states that the Press publishes roughly 60 new titles annually, with a backlist of more than 2,300 titles — of which over 1,100 remain in print. It collaborates with international publishing partners such as Columbia University Press^※, Princeton University Press, University of Chicago Press, University of Hawai‘i Press, New York Review Books, and Éditions Gallimard.

Notable authors published by the Press include Gao Xingjian, Jao Tsung-I, Hsu Cho-yun, D. C. Lau, Lucien Bianco, and Ezra Vogel.

# 2. The University Library System

According to the CUHK Library website^※, the library system comprises seven branches: the University Library, the Elisabeth Luce Moore Library (Chung Chi College), the Ch’ien Mu Library (New Asia College), the Wu Chung Library (United College), the Architecture Library, the Li Ping Medical Library, and the Lee Quo Wei Law Library. There is also the Universities Service Centre for China Studies Collection (USC Collection), managed within the University Library.

CUHK Library Facts & Figures^※ records more than 2.8 million printed volumes, access to over 5.4 million e-books, approximately 160,000 e-journals, and more than 1,000 databases.

# Special Collections

The Special Collections page^※ notes that the holdings include rare Chinese classical books dating from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) through to the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1795), as well as 56 oracle bones — the largest collection of its kind in Hong Kong. In 2008, the Bei Shan Tang Foundation donated 1,383 titles in 9,886 volumes of Chinese rare books, the largest single gift of ancient Chinese texts the library had received in 50 years. The Special Collections also hold modern literary archives and manuscripts, among them the papers of the British sinologist David Hawkes (translator of The Story of the Stone), along with Western rare books published before 1900.

# The Universities Service Centre for China Studies Collection (USC Collection)

The USC introduction^※ explains that the Universities Service Centre (USC) was founded in 1963 to serve Western scholars conducting research on contemporary China. It was incorporated into CUHK in 1988 and renamed the Universities Service Centre for China Studies.

In January 2021, the Centre’s documentary resources were brought under the management of the University Library’s Special Collections, while its academic activities were reassigned to the Institute of Chinese Studies. An open letter from the Association for Asian Studies^※ records that the AAS Board of Directors wrote to CUHK in 2021 expressing concerns about the reorganisation. An official response from the University’s Communications and Public Relations Office^※ was issued, assuring continued access to the academic resources for visiting scholars.

# University Archives

The University Archives page^※ describes a collection of institutional records dating from the University’s founding in 1963, including papers of successive Vice-Chancellors, minutes of Council meetings, and material relating to the amalgamation of the founding colleges — a primary source for the study of CUHK’s history. The CUHK Digital Repository^※ further makes selected Special Collections available online, including a digital oracle bone collection, a Daoist texts collection, and a digital edition of the David Hawkes papers, all searchable online.

# 3. The Art Museum

The Art Museum’s history page^※ records that the Museum opened on the main CUHK campus in the autumn of 1971. It was designed collaboratively by Dr. Selina S. Y. Hsueh and I. M. Pei, with strong support from the philanthropist Dr. J. S. Lee. The Museum now holds more than 16,000 items, spanning ceramics, calligraphy, paintings, ancient seals, Yixing teapots, rubbings, and archaeological teaching specimens, dating from the Neolithic period to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In 1973, the Museum received a gift of over 1,000 items from the collection of the late Ren Zhongqi and his wife, including a prized rubbing of the Huashan temple stele. In 1984, it became the first museum in Hong Kong to collaborate with the Palace Museum in Beijing. The Art Museum also fulfils a teaching role, working with the University’s Department of Fine Arts and the Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art of the Institute of Chinese Studies to support teaching in museology and art history.

# 4. Academic Journals

# Journals published by CUHK Press

The Press’s journals page^※ lists the following principal current or previous publications:

The China Review: The Press’s China Review page^※ notes that the journal began as an annual volume in 1991, moved to two issues per year (April and October) from 2001, and increased to four issues per year from 2018. According to a CUHK in Focus report^※, it has been indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) since 2007, currently ranks in the Q1 bracket, and transitioned to open access in 2025.

Journal of Chinese Studies (中國文化研究所學報): The ICS journal page^※ states that it was first published in September 1968, adopted its current title in 1992, appears twice a year (January and July), and is included in the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI).

Twenty-First Century Bimonthly (二十一世紀): The ICS introduction^※ explains that this non-profit academic and cultural bimonthly was launched in October 1990 by the Institute of Chinese Studies. Serving the global Chinese-language academic community, it became an important forum for Chinese intellectual discourse outside mainland China after 1989.

Renditions: The Research Centre for Translation page^※ notes that this journal was first published by the Centre in 1973 and established itself as the pre-eminent international journal of English translations of Chinese literature, covering more than 2,000 years. The journal ceased publication in 2024 after completing its 100th issue.

The Press also publishes or has published a range of other specialised journals, including the Newsletter of Chinese Language, Communication and Society, Journal of Translation Studies, and several others, a number of which have moved to open access.

An ICS CSSCI news item^※ reports that three journals under the Institute of Chinese Studies have again been accepted for inclusion in the CSSCI source list.

# 5. School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CUSCS)

The CUSCS introduction^※ traces the School’s origins to the Department of Extramural Studies established in 1965; it was renamed the School of Continuing Studies in January 1994, and adopted its present name, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CUSCS), in January 2006. It operates on a self-financing basis under the oversight of a committee of the University Senate.

In the 2023–24 academic year, CUSCS offered 73 award-bearing programmes at levels from Professional Diploma, Professional Certificate, and Higher Diploma to Diploma and Certificate, together with general studies courses, distance-learning courses, and corporate training. The School has provided full-time Higher Diploma programmes since 2002. Its main learning centres are located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, and Tseung Kwan O.

# 6. Information Technology Infrastructure (ITSC)

The ITSC introduction^※ explains that the Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC) provides comprehensive IT services for the University’s academic, research, and administrative departments, and manages the campus-wide information network (CUHKnet).

The campus backbone network page^※ describes a network built on a software-defined networking (SDN) spine-leaf architecture, with a backbone speed of up to 100 Gbps. The network connects to various research and education networks and cloud services via the Hong Kong Academic and Research Network (HARNET) and the Hong Kong Internet Exchange (HKIX). The campus-wide network was fully established by the end of 1992.

Key digital platforms include the MyCUHK student portal, the CUSIS student information system, the Blackboard learning management platform, and academic tools such as Microsoft 365.

# 7. Cultural Venues

# Sir Run Run Shaw Hall

The Sir Run Run Shaw Hall website^※ records that the Hall was completed in 1981 and seats 1,433. It is the largest and best-equipped multi-purpose performance venue on the CUHK campus, suitable for ceremonies, assemblies, lectures, concerts, drama, dance performances, film screenings, and exhibitions.

# Lee Hysan Concert Hall

The CUHK Music facilities page^※ notes that the Lee Hysan Concert Hall, with 269 seats, opened in the spring of 2001. Located on the lower ground floor of the Esther Lee Building, it was designed by architect Rocco Yim with acoustics consultant Joseph Myers; its acoustics are considered among the finest in Asia, well suited to chamber music, solo recitals, and choral performances.

# Chung Chi College Chapel

The campus cultural facilities page^※ notes that the Chung Chi College Chapel seats about 1,200 and doubles as a venue for large-scale events.

# Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (MoCC)

The MoCC website^※ states that the Museum, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, opened in December 2013 on the 8th floor of the Yasumoto International Academic Park at CUHK. It is the world’s first climate-change museum, using interactive multimedia exhibitions and eco-tours to promote environmental education.

# Other exhibition and arts spaces

The campus cultural facilities page^※ lists several other exhibition and arts spaces on campus, including the CUHK History Gallery, the New Asia College History Museum, the Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium, the Hui Gallery, and the Yueh Chiao Art Gallery.

# 8. CUHK’s place in Hong Kong’s higher-education landscape

The UGC list of funded institutions^※ confirms that there are eight UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong, of which CUHK is one. According to the University’s introduction^※, CUHK was founded in 1963, and its collegiate system is its most distinctive feature: among the eight publicly funded universities, only CUHK offers a college-based educational experience, with nine constituent colleges.

CUHK also has the largest campus of any Hong Kong institution, at roughly 138.4 hectares, which the University describes as "the largest and greenest" university campus in the city.

The same source points out that of the 38 government-funded Areas of Excellence projects, 15 are led by CUHK researchers — a significant share.

On international rankings, a Study in HK 2025–26 tuition comparison report^※ places CUHK at 38th globally in the QS World University Rankings 2025, among the top positions for Hong Kong institutions.

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