By now you should have received our Welcome Package and hopefully have already (or will very soon) return the forms and documents to us for processing. If you have not returned the package to us, you are urged to do so immediately by courier services to ensure sufficient time to process your student visa. Once we receive your documents, they will be forwarded to the HK Immigration Department for processing. The usual processing time is 4 weeks. When your visa is ready, our colleague will contact you by email to confirm a delivery address and telephone number. The student visa will then be sent to you by FedEX. No matter where you are, as long as you have a delivery address (no P.O. Box addresses) and someone to sign for the package, the student visa will get to you.

The student visa (which is a sticker) should be pasted onto a blank page in your passport, and that should be shown to the immigration officer at the port-of-entry in HK. A stamp will be placed on it, this will complete the activation process and you will have multiple entry and re-entry into HK during the specified period. Without this stamp, your student visa is not activated and not valid.

For Mainland China passport holders, you are required to submit additional documentation and procedures for the student visa application. If you are unsure of this, I invited you to contact Ms. PuiPui YU at yupuiking@cuhk.edu.hk for information.

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For those of you who wish to travel to Mainland China while studying in HK, you will need a separate China tourist visa (except for holders of Singapore & Japan passports). You are urged to apply for a China Tourist Visa (which is different from the HK Student Visa) at your home country.   Applications can also be made in HK but multiple entry visas are usually not issued in Hong Kong on the 1st application.

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Do remember to complete the online Flight Information Form by 12 June.  So we know when you will be arriving and when to expect you at the hostel. 

There are several ways to go from the airport to CUHK:

1. We have contracted a pick-up service if you arrive on 28 or 29 June 2009.  The cost is HK$250 per person.  A representative will meet you at the ‘Meeting Point’ in the HK International Airport and will take you directly back to your hostel for check-in.  This will save you the hassle of finding your own way and getting lost.
2. Go by taxi.  There is a green taxi which travels only within the New Territories (where the airport and CUHK are located) and tell the taxi driver to deliver you to CUHK.  He can then ask for directions to your hostel once he gets to the University gates.  The cost is approximately HK$250.
3. Take the airport bus number A41 and arrive at the Shatin New Town Plaza.  Then switch to the MTR (train) and arrive at the University station.  You can then take the University shuttle bus (which runs between 7:00am to 11:55pm) within the University and get off at your hostel.  The CUHK map we have given you will be very useful.  The total cost is approximately HK$30.

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All Summer School students will be housed at Residential halls of the New Asia College within the CUHK campus.

Grace Tien Hall	Daisy Li Hall

You will be assigned to one of the two buildings (Grace Tien Hall or Daisy Li Hall, which are adjacent to each other).  A list will be sent in the 2nd newsletter with your name and your room number.  You should go directly to the hostel and check-in upon arrival at CUHK.  Check-in times are between 09:00am to 11:00pm, on the ground floor of Daisy Li Hall.  Student helpers will provide you with the key to your room and explain the check-in procedure.

	You should come to the Office of Academic Links during our office hours (9:00am to 5:30pm) and pick up your orientation materials.
	If you would like to room with a particular student of the summer school, you can complete the Special Request for Rooming form and return it to louiswong@cuhk.edu.hk.   Rooms are mainly doubles, with a few  triples, while single rooms are not available.
	Each student will be given a set of new beddings which include: pillow, pillow case, blanket, and bed sheet.

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Each hostel room is equipped with high-speed wired internet connection, and connection to the internet can be established through a VPN connection.  You will need a LAN cable to connect your computer to the internet socket on the wall.  You can either bring your own LAN cable or purchase one at CUHK.  They run for about HK$25 to $35.  Wireless internet access is only available on the main campus but not in your hostel rooms.

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Orientation activities will start on 30 June at the Shaw Lecture Theatre in Shaw College at 11:30am.  If you are coming to the University yourself, please make sure you arrive on time.  The Welcoming Remarks and information sessions will begin at 11:30am, and the Welcoming Dinner will start at 7:00pm (shuttle buses will leave CUHK at 6:30pm).

You can download the orientation rundown from our website.

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Major local attracts such as the Olympic landmark stadiums, Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square will be visited during the tour.  The cost is estimated to be under HK$5,000 per student including airfare, hotel accommodation (equivalent to a 4-star hotel), most meals and transportation.  The group will leave in the morning of 05 August and return in the evening (landing in Hong Kong around 10:00pm) on 08 August.