A university ranking that once had the reputation in China as one of the world’s most authoritative measures of higher education has become the subject of ridicule on social media.
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The QS World University Rankings, produced by the London-based education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds since 2004, has long been regarded as a “gold standard” for comparing universities worldwide.
Even today, some Chinese companies and local governments use it as a main criterion for hiring and granting residency status.
But the newly released 2026 QS Asia University Rankings took many by surprise. Both its results and methodology have raised eyebrows on Chinese social media, with many users calling the list “nonsense” or “unintentionally funny”.
In prime position was the University of Hong Kong, followed by Peking University at No 2 and NTU Singapore in third place.
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Also in the top 10 were the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology at No 6, City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong at equal seventh, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 10th place.