HK students impressed in Mainland visit

Hong Kong youth were awed by the mainland's development after joining a visit to Zhejiang province - one of the country's key innovation centers - with the largest and youngest ever six-day tour for a high-tech and culture feast, which concluded on Friday.

"Though Hong Kong is a financial center, Hangzhou excels Hong Kong with its balanced development in diverse sectors," said 22-year-old Cheung Siu-fung, a third-year college student studying in the UK, who joined the tour. "So I would definitely be interested in coming to Hangzhou, or other mainland cities, to work if there is a chance."

The 2,000-strong youth delegation, with an average age of less than 26, arrived in Hangzhou on July 30. They were divided into groups to visit 11 cities in Zhejiang province, including Hangzhou, the capital city and home to many creative and technology companies; Wenzhou, a famous manufacturing base; and Shaoxing, renowned for its wine industry.

During the trip, young people from Hong Kong were able to experience firsthand many innovative and creative products during site visits to industry leaders like Geely Automobile and Hikvision, a surveillance and monitoring devices supplier.

On a bike tour around the city's famous West Lake with other members of the group, Cheung was amazed by the convenience of cashless payment and the extensive application of innovation and technology in Hangzhou's daily life.

On Sai-yiu, 17, a high school student with Mu Kuang English School in Kowloon, Hong Kong, who visited the Internet Village of Dream Town - Hangzhou's incubation center for internet startups - said that he was deeply impressed by the dynamic tech scene in the Zhejiang provincial capital. He said Hangzhou is more tech-savvy than he thought.

"During this tour, I noticed that young entrepreneurship in the tech industry is particularly strong and highly encouraged by the city. This helps many local tech startups sprout," On said.

During time on Wednesday with Hong Kong entrepreneurs, including those who have established themselves in Hangzhou and those who came not long ago, the young people from Hong Kong were advised to take the initiate to embrace the nation's development and link their future with the country's.

For Nicole Kwan, 23, a Hong Kong university graduate, it was her first visit to Hangzhou and Ningbo. She said that she was startled by the swift development on the mainland. She found Hangzhou bursting with culture and innovation, and Ningbo very organized and suitable to live and work in.

Kwan said she would surely take a job in Hangzhou if given the chance.

The tour has been held annually since 2015 by New Home Association, an NGO in Hong Kong. Similar tours with an increasing popularity among youth from the special administrative region were arranged frequently by other social groups and organizations in past years, to foster a better understanding of the country and deepen the communication between people, especially the young, from Hong Kong and the mainland.

According to the association, the tour to Zhejiang province this year had a full enrollment in the first round, though they had expected to open three rounds of applications.

Honey Tsang contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at stushadow@chinadailyhk.com.