Campus Terminology, Dining Culture, and Continuing Education Schools

“Go to P座,” “eat at AC1,” “head to Festival Walk” – these phrases, instantly recognisable to CityU students, sound like a foreign language to an outsider. This page catalogues CityU’s colloquial names, campus terminology and building abbreviations, the dining culture that revolves around Festival Walk and the on-campus canteens, as well as a factual check of CityU’s continuing-education and self-financing institution system – namely the CityU School of Continuing and Professional Education (CityU SCOPE), and a self-financing institution lineage that is frequently misremembered: what was once a CityU affiliate and is now the independent UOW College Hong Kong. For CityU’s position among Hong Kong’s eight UGC‑funded universities and the common confusion over its name, see CityU in the Hong Kong Higher Education Landscape.

Colloquial names and campus slang belong to the oral culture of the community; this archive records them neutrally. Where specific prices or figures appear, sources are cited wherever possible. The evolution of slang is described as “commonly used on campus” without any claim to prescriptivism. The affiliation history of self-financing institutions, which has involved multiple name changes and de‑affiliations, is exceptionally easy to misattribute; this article marks each entity as “formerly affiliated / currently affiliated / never affiliated.” Anything that cannot be verified is marked “unconfirmed.”

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# 1. Common Names for the University

• Chinese common name “城大”: the most widely used abbreviation for the City University of Hong Kong, used in media across the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, and mainland China, as well as within the University.
• English common names “CityU” / “City”: in English the University is usually shortened to CityU; in conversation, students and the wider community also refer to it simply as “City” (e.g. “I study at City”). In recent years the University has also officially adopted CityUHK as a more distinctive abbreviation (to distinguish it from other “City University” names).
• Official name timeline: CityU’s predecessor was the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, founded in 1984 and granted university status in 1994; older generations may therefore still call it “City Poly,” which is a historical name.

# 2. Campus Buildings and Landmark Terminology

CityU’s main campus is located on Tat Chee Avenue in Kowloon Tong. The core buildings are connected by the “Academic Building” complex, and the following campus‑wide abbreviations are used:

The “AC + number” shorthand is extremely common in student speech (e.g. “eat at AC1”). The academic buildings are linked by covered walkways and lifts and connect directly to the Festival Walk shopping centre. Architectural details of the three academic buildings can be found in 05-campus/buildings-landmarks.md.

# 3. Festival Walk and CityU

The CityU campus is immediately adjacent to and physically connected with the large shopping centre Festival Walk, which sits in Kowloon Tong and is directly linked to CityU and the MTR Kowloon Tong station^※. This unusual “university‑on‑top‑of‑a‑mall” layout makes Festival Walk practically an extension of CityU life:

• Dining: Festival Walk houses over 200 retail and food & beverage outlets^※. Its food court, with tenants such as TamJai SamGor Mixian, Café de Coral, Yoshinoya, Satay King, Pepper Lunch and KFC, is one of the main dining and social hubs for CityU students.
• Glacier ice rink: Festival Walk contains one of Hong Kong’s largest indoor ice rinks, Glacier (冰上皇宮)^※, a landmark well‑known to CityU students.
• Transport hub: the campus is directly accessible via the MTR Kowloon Tong station (Kwun Tong Line / East Rail Line), making CityU an exceptionally well‑connected urban campus. (For commuting routes and the history of the “Time Tunnel” link bridge, see 05-campus/transport-and-facilities.md).

Some students refer to the area around the AC1–Festival Walk link as the “white zone” because of the mall’s predominantly white interiors – this is student slang rather than an official designation; it is recorded here only as a campus‑cultural reference.

# 4. On‑Campus Canteens and Dining Culture

In addition to Festival Walk, the CityU campus has several canteens and food outlets. According to the University’s international student dining guide and campus lore:

• Academic building canteens: each of AC1, AC2 and AC3 has its own canteen; word on campus is that AC1 is the most wallet‑friendly, while AC2 and AC3 offer somewhat more refined fare – this reflects student opinion, not an official rating.
• City Express (student canteen): located on the 5th floor of the Amenities Building, operated by the Maxim’s fast‑food group, and popularly described as one of the largest dining outlets on campus.
• Nearby eateries: Nam Shan Estate, about a 10‑minute walk from campus, offers cha chaan teng‑style restaurants, stir‑fry shops, Japanese food and congee stalls, and is a popular place for students to carry on after a meal on campus.

CityU’s official international‑student guide promotes the convenience of having “on‑campus dining plus over 30 restaurants in Festival Walk,” highlighting the dual “campus + mall” advantage. Specific stalls, operators and prices change from year to year; what is listed here should be confirmed against the current on‑site reality.

# 5. Common Abbreviations – Quick Reference

The table above lists the abbreviations commonly used on campus, provided for cross‑reference when reading other sections of this site. The official full names and organisational structures of each unit should be taken from the CityU website (some structures have been adjusted in recent years; see the relevant college‑specific section of this site for details).

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# 6. CityU School of Continuing and Professional Education (CityU SCOPE)

# 6.1 Position

The School of Continuing and Professional Education, City University of Hong Kong (CityU SCOPE) is CityU’s continuing and professional education arm, established in 1991^※ and positioned as a provider of continuing education and lifelong learning in Hong Kong. It is a constituent part of CityU, functioning as a School‑level unit rather than a separate legal entity.

# 6.2 Programme Scope

Officially, CityU SCOPE’s programmes fall into three categories:

CityU SCOPE’s programmes are self‑financing in nature, distinct from the UGC‑funded undergraduate programmes offered by the main University. It serves working adults, retraining and self‑enhancement, acting as the University’s window for society‑wide lifelong learning needs.

# 7. The Self‑financing Post‑secondary Institution That Was Once Part of CityU: CCCU → UOW College Hong Kong

This is the most important — and most frequently mangled — lineage in the history of CityU’s affiliated self‑financing institutions.

# 7.1 Origin: Community College of City University (CCCU)

In 2004^※, the Hong Kong Government announced the gradual withdrawal of funding for sub‑degree programmes. CityU established the Community College of City University (CCCU) to offer self‑financing sub‑degree (associate degree / higher diploma) programmes. At that time, CCCU was a self‑financing affiliate of CityU.

# 7.2 Alliance with the University of Wollongong and Gradual Separation

On 21 November 2014^※, the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia and CityU announced a collaboration. During a transition period the institution operated under the dual identity of UOWCHK / CCCU. A roughly five‑year transition then followed, as the institution moved steadily towards independence. In 2019^※ it was approved as an independently accrediting institution. In July 2020^※ the institution formally adopted the name UOW College Hong Kong (UOWCHK) and was officially de‑affiliated from CityU – from that point on CityU would “focus on academia,” while the independent institution would develop towards becoming a degree‑awarding university or college.

# 7.3 Current Status (affiliation verified)

# 8. Clearing Up the Confusion: Common Misattributions

Because names of self‑financing institutions are often similar and their affiliations have shifted repeatedly, the following points must be clarified. Under no circumstances should the following be listed as CityU affiliates:

• “Centennial College” ≠ CityU: Centennial College is a private college under the University of Hong Kong (HKU)^※, established in 2012 by HKU SPACE in Pokfulam, and is a private affiliate of HKU. Centennial College has no affiliation whatsoever with CityU – claiming it is a CityU affiliate is a misattribution.
• “HKCT” ≠ CityU: HKCT (Hong Kong College of Technology) is an independent vocational / post‑secondary education provider; it has no affiliation with CityU. Any institutions under its umbrella (such as CTIHE) are equally not CityU affiliates.
• “Hong Kong Community College / HKCC” ≠ CityU: Hong Kong Community College (HKCC) is a self‑financing affiliate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and has no connection to CityU.

In a single sentence: within Hong Kong’s self‑financing post‑secondary landscape, CityU’s one and only definitive self‑financing affiliated institutional lineage is CCCU (now UOW College Hong Kong). Centennial College (under HKU), HKCC (under PolyU) and HKCT (independent) are none of them CityU affiliates and must not be absorbed into the CityU system.

# 9. Other CityU Continuing‑Education / Articulation Arrangements

Beyond CityU SCOPE, the main University also provides professional continuing‑education and articulation pathways (CityU SCOPE handles government‑funded CEF and ERB courses) as well as taught postgraduate and professional programmes (offered by the various faculties and the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies; these fall under the UGC‑funded / self‑financing postgraduate programmes of the University and are not covered in this article).

CityU has also established a collaborative campus in mainland China, CityU (Dongguan), which is a cross‑border jointly‑run university of a different nature from the “self‑financing affiliated post‑secondary institutions” discussed here. For details see the internationalisation section of this site; it is not discussed further here.

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# 10. Summary

CityU’s campus culture is highly “urbanised and retail‑oriented”: a city‑centre university seamlessly connected to Festival Walk and the MTR, giving its dining, social life and commuting a distinctly “urban‑convenience” character. In terms of terminology, “CityU / CityUHK / City” and “AC1 / AC2 / AC3” are everyday high‑frequency words that form the shared code by which CityU people recognise one another. On the continuing‑education front, CityU SCOPE (founded in 1991) is the University’s in‑service self‑financing continuing‑education school; CityU’s sole historical self‑financing affiliated post‑secondary institution, CCCU, became the independent UOW College Hong Kong in 2020 and is no longer part of CityU. Institutions with similar‑sounding names — Centennial College, HKCC, HKCT and the like — have no affiliation with CityU and must not be confused with it.

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# Sources

• Study @ CityU — Catering — official
• ABOUT FESTIVAL WALK — official
• Festival Walk (Wikipedia) — secondary
• CityUHK SCOPE website — official
• School of Continuing and Professional Education (CityU SCOPE) — DMU partner page — secondary
• UOW College Hong Kong (Wikipedia) — secondary
• Centennial College (Hong Kong) (Wikipedia) — secondary
• Hong Kong Community College (Wikipedia) — secondary

# See also

• CityU in the Hong Kong Higher Education Landscape · Campus Landmarks and Buildings · Transport and Facilities · Dongguan Campus