The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Here are some informations on getting to the campus, accommodation on campus, the symposium location, restaurants and other campus facilities that you may want to use.
We provide accommodation on the campus of HKUST on a first-come-first-serve basis (in order of arrival of payment form). These are hotel-quality rooms in so-called serviced apartments ("serviced" means that a hotel-like service is provided: the rooms are cleaned every day, the beds are made up, and breakfast is included).
Each serviced apartments has three bedrooms, a living room, a pantry with refrigerator and cooking facilities, and a shower room equippped with a washer and a dryer. You will thus share the apartment (but not the bedroom) with two other participants. If you wish, you can indicate on your registration form whom you would like to share an apartment with, otherwise we will do the matching for you. Each apartment has one room with a double bed (140cm wide), available on request. All other rooms are single rooms.
All rooms are the same rate, US$40, per night per room, and are availabe from June 10 (date of arrival) to June 15 (date of departure). We can honor requests for rooms in the same serviced apartment only for participants staying for the same period.
Requests are processed in a first-come-first-serve basis in order of arrival of your payment form. We cannot guarantee availability of accommodation, and room reservation is closed on May 22.
To reserve reservation on campus, simply indicate your preference on the Symposium reservation form. If you decide not to stay on campus, check our links to the HKTA.
To get to the University from Hong Kong International Airport you would first take the Airport Express to Kowloon Station. One-way tickets cost HK$60, and are available from vending machines or from cashiers.
From Kowloon Station, the easiest way to get to the University is by taxi. The fare should be around HK$100-120. Only HK currency will be accepted by taxi drivers. The full address of our University in Chinese and English is:
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon
Hong Kong
A taxi directly from the airport to the university would be around HK$350-400, so you can consider this option if you are in a group. If you go to the taxi stand at the airport, you will find that there are three different kinds of taxis: red, green, and blue ones. Contrary to the information on the sign board, it is not a good idea to take a green taxi, and you really want to use a red one.
At the main gate to the campus, there is a big and easily recognizable sign with the name of the University written in English and Chinese.
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The taxi can go in the gate. Right past the main gate, you will be
going down a slope to the circular entrance plaza with a red sundial
(sculpture) at the centre.
If you are not going directly to your accommodation, you would get off the taxi near the red sundial. Lecture Theatre C (the location of the presentations), canteens, book store and offices, etc, are all within walking distance. The taxi can, however, also bring you directly to your accommodation on campus, see below. |
To get to your accommodation, ask (make signs) the taxi driver to make a full left turn at the sundial. You will be going down another slope.
To check in, walk along the left side of the building (with a nice view to your left on the sea) until you face a glass door labeled "Users may be requested to show a valid university ID". Inside, take the stairs or the elevator up to the first floor. You can check in at the office there.
The building may be closed after 10:30 pm. If you expect to arrive after that time (that is, if your plane arrives at Hong Kong airport after around 9 pm), please send Email to the organizers with your expected arrival time. The manager may be waiting for you in the office, so try knocking on the door to see whether he is around. If you do not get a response by knocking, you will need to call the manager. His name is Sam, and his mobile number is 92696610. If you are arriving late, you could already call him from the taxi using the taxi driver's mobile phone. Otherwise, the closest phone would be in Tower B, the next building a few meters uphill along the road. The security office at the right hand side on the ground floor of Tower B is staffed all night, and you can ask to use their phone to call Sam.
There are no special arrangements for lunch during the symposium, so that you experience the wide range of eating facilities on campus.
At the ground floor of the University Centre (where the serviced apartments are) is the "University Bistro." It serves a few Western and some Asian dishes. The menu is in English, and staff speaks English.
Very close to the location of the talks, with tables outside on the courtyard, is the "Coffee Shop." They serve sandwiches, salads, pizza, and for lunch also one or two hot dishes. It is possible to order in English.
The main restaurant on campus is the Chinese sit-down restaurant on the ground floor in the atrium, opposite the library. During lunch time, it serves dim-sum and other hot food. Dim-sum is not available for dinner but there are many choices on the menu. An English menu is available.
Perhaps easiest to use (and best quality) among the student cafeterias is the buffet-style cafeteria at the far end of LG7 (LG stands for "lower ground," so LG7 is what we would call -7). You reach it by taking lifts 10-12 down to LG7, and walking all the way through the "ordinary" LG7 cafeteria until you reach an enclosed area with tables. You pay when you enter the enclosed area (the current price is HK$35), and then are free to choose a table and help yourself from the offerings.
Then there are three ordinary student cafeterias, at LG1, LG5, and LG7.
The LG1 cafeteria serves rice plates, noodles in soups, and some limited choice of dim-sum. There are tables and chairs on the balcony outside. Unfortunately, all the signs are in Chinese there, and the staff speaks little or no English. You access LG1 by taking the escalator down at the center of the atrium.
The LG5 cafeteria is a mini food court. There is a Japanese and Thai stall (both heavily adapted to local taste!), Chinese congee stalls, and a pizza/spaghetti counter. You reach LG5 by taking lift 10-12. Once you exit the lift area, you have to make a U-turn to your right. You can also take the flight of escalators down from LG1.
The LG7 cafeteria (in front of the buffet place mentioned above) is the largest student cafeteria. It is connected to the LG5 cafeteria by two flights of stairs, or can be reached using lifts 10-12. The kind of food served is similar to that in LG1. There are far more seats compared to LG1 and LG5.
There is also a western (or rather, what the cook believes to be western) sit-down restaurant right next to the LG1 cafeteria. It is on your right hand side when you enter the LG1 cafeteria. They have either a lunch buffet or set luncheons, depending on the day of the week.
A fixed number of bottles of beer and soft drinks will be provided per table. Should you exhaust the supply on your table, you can trade with other tables, or order more at your own expense.
Since you will want to enjoy the view of the harbour in the night after dinner, no return bus is provided. You will return to HKUST in small groups on your own. The easiest procedure is taking a taxi, see above. For other options, see below.
To leave the campus and see the rest of Hong Kong you will either have to take a taxi (remember that taxi drivers may not speak English, so have your destination written in Chinese or use a well-known landmark such as a big hotel), or a bus.
The University bus stop is at the main gate, a few minutes walking from the Atrium. You should pay the bus fare by dropping coins in the box next to the driver when boarding the bus. Bus drivers do not give change. Bus fares are in the range HK$3.50-6.50 (a sign next to the box where you drop your money will tell you).
Note that in Hong Kong the word subway is used in the British sense and is a simple underground passage. The underground train system is called MTR. So don't get off the bus when you see a sign "Subway" on the way.
To go to town from campus, one can take bus 91 or 91M. Make sure the sign at the front says "Diamond Hill", and get off at Choi Hung MTR station (about 15 min) and transfer to the MTR. (It is hard to miss the stop, as most people will get off at this bus terminal on the left hand side of the road--but even if you do, just stay on until the terminus, which is Diamond Hill MTR station.) Or one can take bus 298 to go to Lam Tin MTR station (the terminus, about 20-25 min) and transfer to the MTR.
To get back to campus, one can take bus 91 (Clear Water Bay direction) or 91M (Hang Hau direction) outside the Choi Hung MTR station. Or one can take bus 298 at the bus terminal at the Lam Tin MTR station.
There is also minibus 11 that runs between Choi Hung MTR station and the University. You pay (HK$5.50) when you get in, and you may have to shout to make the driver stop when you want to get out.
The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the Hong Kong version of an underground. It's the easiest way to get around Hong Kong. You can buy tickets from the vending machines at each station. Unfortunately, HKUST is a 15 minutes bus ride from the closest MTR station, Choi Hung, or a 25 minutes bus ride from Lam Tin MTR station. Both stations are on the "green line" (Kwun Tong Line).