BEIJING - The University of Hong Kong has attracted 11 students from mainland provinces who achieved top scores in the national college entrance exam this year, almost double the number in 2010.

The offers no longer give priority to students from first-rate cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but also cover the central and western regions of the mainland, the University of Hong Kong announced on Saturday.

For the first time, the university has opened its enrollment plan for students from the Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, Qinghai and Gansu provinces.