Universities open campuses for summer visitors

Some prestigious universities are opening their campuses as summer vacation has begun, giving visitors a chance to experience their unique vibes.

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 am to 11 am and from 2 pm to 4 pm 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-19 epidemic. As the impact of COVID-19 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.

In a poll by the Southern Metropolis Daily in late May, more than 96 percent of the college students interviewed also said they support the idea of opening their own universities, and the most prominent reason was that universities inherently carry the genes of opening-up.

On the other hand, they also expressed concerns that opening-up may exert more pressure on maintaining order in the campus. The poll said that nearly 86 percent of the students are concerned that visitors may impact the regular order in teaching or potentially pose safety hazards. They suggested methods such as real name registration or limit the hours or areas of visiting.

Wang Qing, a researcher at Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Humanities and Social Sciences, suggested that universities' opening-up needs to go beyond allowing the public to enter the brick-and-mortar buildings.

"Universities should not monopolize the rights on producing and evaluating knowledge. They should create knowledge together with the outside world," he told China Science Daily.