Tsinghua University: Only ONE Booking Allowed Per Year?! Are You Serious?!

[Frank Cole]

Hello, everyone! Today I want to share something interesting with you all, which is about visiting the campuses of top universities in Beijing.

Back then, when I first arrived in Beijing, I spent my first year living in Zhongguancun. [Note: Zhongguancun can be thought of as China's "Silicon Valley". Many technology companies and prestigious universities are located there.]

At that time, newly graduated, I still felt a mysterious yearning for these prestigious universities and would often go to Tsinghua University and Peking University, two of the most distinguished universities in China. Sometimes, I even used my smartphone app to search for nearby people, hoping to add some students from Tsinghua or Peking Universities on social media and sneakily learn about their life experiences, but I never succeeded, hehe!

Then came the epidemic, the universities across the country closed for three years, no free entry allowed.

Recently, the epidemic has finally subsided, many people are eagerly waiting for universities to reopen, but things turned out differently: most of these leading universities opened with reluctance, not quite willing and accommodating.

Yesterday, I met up with some friends who were also pursuing achievements in Beijing. We wanted to visit Tsinghua University. Imagine our surprise when we found out...

• Moment of Stunned Silence:
  • You now need an appointment to enter Tsinghua University!
  • And what's more absurd is that I saw that all slots for the next week have been fully booked!
  • In addition, it seems that each individual can only get one successful appointment per year. So our group immediately burst into complaints:
  • Friend A: "I remember in 2019, I could ride a shared bike and enter Tsinghua just like that, right down to the dormitory buildings without anyone trying to stop me. The same goes for Peking University, where you could just drive an electric bike right inside through the South Gate."
  • Friend B (sarcastically): "Do people actually think universities like Tsinghua and Peking can just take every visitors? There are feelings of distance and sanctity to maintain! It serves as an important symbol of prosperity for our education industry."
  • Friend A: "So we taxpayers have no right to enter? We might as well spend money sponsoring installations of new turnstiles?"
  • Me: "Exactly! I pay so much tax per year in Beijing and devoted the best part of my youth here!"
  • Friend B (continuing sarcasm): "Be grateful! Don’t you see your boss is a graduate of Tsinghua? Don’t forget to thank them!"

It truly made us feel both amused and upset.

Warning to those wishing to browse the campuses of Tsinghua and Peking University:

• Make sure to book in advance! And a lot of days earlier!
  • Nowadays, it’s harder than before and require you to check on official channels (such as the school’s official website or WeChat program) how to make reservations.
  • How to avoid inconvenience: Plan your tour early, and book a reservation as soon as possible after confirming your plans. Otherwise, you will find yourselves like us, having wasted a trip.
• Note of limited appointment numbers in certain period for individuals:
  • Some schools might set limit to individual yearly or monthly appointment number.

It leaves to question whether Tsinghua University and Peking University should be more open to public, what do you think?

(End of Translation)

[Dr. Israel McLaughlin]

Is your campus even open to the public? Can people just come and visit your desk? How many schools nowadays just let anyone from the public walk in? Universities aren't tourist attractions. If you want to sightsee, go to the Old Summer Palace next door.

[Misty Dare]

I never said I wanted to visit your classrooms. I just want to take a stroll around the campus, and I definitely wouldn't disturb you 'top students' while you're studying.

[Lucille Borer]

The other day, I posted a heartfelt plea on Xiaohongshu and almost got 'criticized to death' for it.

[Marcos Goodwin]

Why are Tsinghua students so hostile? A few years of lockdown and they've learned all about 'public criticism sessions,' have they?

[Zachary Hayes]

Isn't this basic protection for students? If anyone can just walk in, universities become unsafe, and who would want to attend? Even vocational schools and junior colleges require student IDs, but major universities supposedly don't? Many university students have been scammed before; it's just that the amounts were often too small to warrant a formal police case.

[Lula Turner]

What would you even do there every day? I visit once and I don't want to go back for a whole year. The moment I step through the gates, I feel the pressure.

[Lindsey Jerde DDS]

Wuhan University, much like Peking University: 'Open'? Yeah, dream on!

[Miss Angela Cormier]

So, can you get in without a reservation? If so, how?

[Alejandro Runolfsdottir]

Can't you just apply for an alumni card?

[Dallas Durgan]

If a person makes a reservation once a year and can bring guests, can one of those guests then act as the main reserver to make another reservation within that same year?

[Joanne Swift]

Tsinghua hasn't allowed general public access since 2018. So how could anyone have ridden a bike right up to the dorms?