Details

• China
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

Before coming to Hong Kong, the most important thing is that you have prepared an eSIM, this makes the arrival a lot easier. My provider was called SoSim and it worked very well and was quite cheap. Make sure to get to Hong Kong a few days prior to your first day at university to get acustomed to the time difference and also the city itself as it is quite busy in comparison to Vienna.

2. Accommodation

I looked for different types of private housing, as the dorms for exchange students are quite far outside of the city and not on campus I chose the Weave Living Olympic which is located near the metro stations "Olympic" (short commute to Hong Kong Island) and "Mong Kok". From there you need about 25 minutes to the City U campus. The housing was very modern and accommodated a lot of students, many of them also from City University, which made it almost feel like a dorm. The area is very busy and a lot less "western" as HK Island. However, it is very cheap and incredibly safe, the people are friendly (although they spoke limited english) and you are well connected to other parts of the mainland. My housing was quite expensive but still standard for Hong Kong housing prices

3. Academic life at host university

The campus was very big and had multiple buildings, which where sometimes hard to find. The academic culture is very strong, but as an exchange student i never felt pressured. The courses had almost no attendance. They also use Canvas, which was a very pleasant experience. They also use their own "Studydrive", which is called "studocu"- there you can find all kinds of mock exams or lecture notes, as it is sometimes a bit confusing on how to study for the final exams with only the materials provided by the professor. My final exams were quite hard and as the grading style is based on the curve, other than at WU, you sometimes fall a bit short because there are so many good students. But in the end i was very pleasantly surprised by my transcript. Course Recommendations: "Business and Hong Kong Society" - popular amongst exchange students and very interesting as an introduction to Hong Kong, very low effort, no final exam "Mergers & Acquisitions" - for students that are interested in this topic, as WU doesnt offer a course in this kind of direction

5. Every day life in the host country

The metro is super convenient and cheap, you pay via tap-in/tap-out with your Octopus card or credit card, and the fares are about the same as in Vienna. On HK Island there are trams. Hong Kong was one of the safest cities ive ever travelled to, the people mostly keep to themselves but are very friendly to europeans. Hong Kong has a lot to offer in terms of activities. Make sure to go to the Horse Race every Wednesday in Happy Valley, there you'll meet a ton of other exchange students and it is overall a very fun experience. HK also has a great selection of cheap Michelin Guide restaurants, so make sure to check them out as well. We went around Chinese New Year, where we saw a great fireworks installation on a boat, which you can rent for cheap if you are a big group. Also there are a lot of beaches in the area, mostly only half an hour away by bus. Our favorite was Repulse Bay and Sai Kung.

6. Testimonial

Going to Hong Kong was the best decision for my exchange semester because it combines the western influences we are familiar with, with an incredibly unique cultural experience. There are endless possibilities on what to do everyday and even with university, you find a lot of time to take some time off and enjoy the city as it is. The city is always bustling, so make sure to not plan to far ahead and just go outside and walk, this is how you make the most of the city.