Chung Chi College

Chung Chi College

Chung Chi College (Chung Chi College) is one of the four colleges of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as one of the founding colleges and the largest in scale. Guided by Christian traditions, it offers higher education with Chinese as the primary language of instruction. Its purpose is to nurture youth in embodying the Christian spirit, engaging in advanced academic study, promoting research, and cultivating talented individuals beneficial to society. The Chung Chi College campus is located in a valley at 11½ Milepost on Tai Po Road, New Territories, Hong Kong. What sets Chung Chi College apart from the other colleges is not only its Christian background and weekly chapel services but also the presence of a chapel and a theological school within its grounds, as well as being the only college in the university that offers both theology and music as academic subjects. The Chung Chi Chapel is also the only ground-level chapel in Hong Kong’s tertiary education institutions.

Colleges and Departments

Chung Chi College is divided into 61 departments, offering about 54 major programs and 46 minor programs. Students must belong to one of the faculties of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, including the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Science, and Faculty of Law. Chung Chi College is the only college at The Chinese University of Hong Kong that offers both theology and music as academic options.

History

The establishment of Chung Chi College was primarily due to the merger of thirteen Christian universities in mainland China. In response to the demand for Chinese higher education in Hong Kong in the early 1950s, Chung Chi College was founded in 1951 by representatives of Hong Kong’s Christian churches and was formally registered under Hong Kong government legislation in 1955.

At its inception, Chung Chi College had only 63 students and initially held classes at St. John's Cathedral and St. Paul's Co-educational College. It later rented premises on Caine Road and the Memorial Chapel of St. John the Evangelist on Lower Albert Road. This development was made possible through financial support from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia in the United States, the Lingnan University Foundation Committee in New York, and the Association of Christian Colleges and Universities in Asia in London, England, as well as ongoing contributions from various sectors of the Hong Kong community and churches.

Granted a 10-acre land site at Ma Liu Shui in the New Territories by the Hong Kong Government, along with the construction of an additional railway station (now known as University Station), Chung Chi College relocated in 1956 to its permanent and picturesque campus in Ma Liu Shui Village, New Territories. The college also purchased adjacent land for building a sports field and additional facilities. Currently, the college’s land area, including government land, totals 55 acres, and the villagers of Ma Liu Shui Village have been resettled at another new location in the New Territories.

In 1957, New Asia College, Chung Chi College, and United College formed the Chinese Colleges Joint Council to advocate for the establishment of a “Chinese University.” In 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong was founded, and Chung Chi College became one of its three founding colleges. The college motto, “The highest good is like water,” is derived from The Great Learning.

Transportation Guide

Location: A valley at 11½ Milepost on Tai Po Road, New Territories, Hong Kong

Getting There: Take Citybus routes 72A, 72, 73A, 74A, 872; or New Territories minibuses route 28K