Exchange tours and volunteering help students learn nation’s development

“Read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles.” That was President Xi Jinping’s reply to a letter sent to him by students of Hong Kong’s Pui Kiu Middle School in 2023.

The president’s aspirations have been put into action over the past three years by students who are now studying at prestigious colleges across the country as they continue to learn more about the nation’s development.

Some students told China Daily that through these in-person exchanges and volunteerism, they have deepened their recognition of the country’s development and gained further insight into Xi’s words, which have inspired them to hone their skills and contribute to building a better Hong Kong and realizing national rejuvenation.

READ MORE: Xi's reply conveys care, encouragement to HK youth

Chen Man-lin and Lu Yin-ki were among the Form 4 students who wrote to Xi and are now studying at the University of Hong Kong and Shanghai’s Fudan University, respectively.

Recalling the excitement and surprise of receiving the president’s reply, Chen said Xi encouraged them to contribute to national development and seize educational opportunities. It made her feel a strong sense of responsibility.

“The wording of the president’s letter is very close and warm, just like from an elder,” she said.

Chen has taken up that advice over the past three years, having joined secondary school exchange tours to various places on the Chinese mainland, including Beijing, and Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces, and learning more about their history and the country’s devotion to these regions.

Her weeklong tour of Guizhou — covering Guiyang, Zunyi and Bijie — was part of the Mainland Study Tours of the Citizenship and Social Development curriculum. Chen said the visit struck her the most. She observed that the central government’s support for Guizhou’s transportation infrastructure has transformed the province from a mountainous, underdeveloped area into a tourist hot spot.

Lu said such immersive experiences greatly strengthen students’ recognition of the country. During her first winter break at Fudan University, she joined a weeklong volunteer project in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, teaching at a local school managed by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

“These experiences have fulfilled some of Xi’s expectations in his reply to us, offering us a deeper understanding of the nation’s development,” Lu said. Over the past three years, her understanding of the nation’s conditions has become more comprehensive, going beyond textbook knowledge,” she said.

Chen also shared her experience visiting an exchange project in Malaysia, a participating country in the Belt and Road Initiative. There, she saw railways built with China’s assistance. “I noticed that some local students could speak fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. This made me realize that as China’s strength grows, it’s also dedicated to helping other countries develop. At the same time, Chinese culture has flourished around the world,” she said.

“By visiting a place personally, we can gain a more authentic understanding of it,” Chen added.

“When we organized the students to write the letter to the president, we considered it an educational activity,” said Ng Wun-kit, principal of Pui Kiu Middle School, as he recounted the effort. “Of course, we hoped to receive a reply. But, truly, we didn’t dare to hold such an expectation as there had been no such precedent among Hong Kong schools.”

Ng said the letter conveyed the president’s earnest expectations of Hong Kong students and brought tremendous encouragement, inspiring them to study hard and proactively learn more about the nation’s history. “One thing is certain — the reply was not just for our school; it was for all students in Hong Kong,” Ng said.

The principal has made it his personal mission to share the letter and Xi’s reply with youngsters on several occasions to foster a sense of national identity.

At the city level, Ng saw the letter as having set off a chain reaction in the education sector. The mainland study tours attended by Chen and Lu were among the ripple effects, he said.

Each year, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau provides 100,000 quotas for local students to go on mainland exchange and study tours. The number ensures that all students in publicly funded schools can participate in at least one subsidized Mainland Exchange Program during their primary and secondary education.

After the 2022-23 school year, these study tours have been integrated into the mandatory Citizenship and Social Development curriculum.

Ng said that these trips allow students to see firsthand the nation’s development.

Since travel fully resumed between Hong Kong and the mainland after the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 200,000 students have taken part in the government-led study tours to experience the nation’s latest development and achievements, broaden their horizons, deepen their understanding of the country, and nurture their sense of patriotism, the bureau said.

“More young people in Hong Kong are willing to visit the mainland to embrace the nation, keeping themselves abreast of the country’s development policies to seek opportunities,” Ng said.

He added that relying solely on online information about the mainland can lead to significant misunderstandings. By setting foot on the mainland in person, one can deepen their understanding, echoing Xi’s “read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles” call, he said.

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Lu and Chen also said that their friends generally have positive impressions of the mainland, especially about its convenient shopping experiences.

In today’s era of advanced social media and rapid information dissemination, Hong Kong residents can easily access the latest news about the mainland, the students said. Besides, it’s so convenient to visit mainland cities, especially within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; such integration can promote exchanges with the mainland, as well as people’s understanding of the nation’s environment, they said.

Lu, who majors in journalism at Fudan University, said that for young people, equipping themselves with solid skills may seem like a personal accomplishment. But they are, in some way, contributing to society and the nation, she added.

Contact the writers at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com