Greater Bay Area Career Exploration Tour

Ellie:

The Education Bureau has organized a two-day Greater Bay Area Career Exploration Tour from 3rd July to 4th July, taking place in Dongguan. This tour welcomed 29 students from S4 to S5, with the goal of enhancing their understanding of the Greater Bay Area's recent developments and its collaborative relationship with Hong Kong. It also aimed to provide valuable insights into potential career paths available in the region, encouraging students to explore new opportunities in the mainland.

The itinerary included visits to several enterprises, including Hsu Fu Chi International Limited and Guangdong Red Coral Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., as well as exhibitions such as the Taiping Handbags Factory Exhibition Hall, along with notable attractions like Songshan Lake.

We are grateful for the opportunity provided by our school, which allowed us to visit one of the factories of Hsu Fu Chi International Limited, a renowned snack brand that I have admired since childhood. We observed the sophisticated process of sachima production, and we were fortunate enough to sample a piece of freshly made sachima on-site, which was delightfully flavorful and rich in egg taste.

As someone with an interest in trendy culture, I was particularly excited about our visit to Haide One Mall, home to a X11 chain shop. This global brand is known for its collection of trendy cultural items. Given Dongguan's reputation as the "Chinese Chao Play," the extensive variety of figures available in the X11 shop truly impressed me, especially as many of them are popular among teenagers. It was a remarkable display that captured my attention.

Anna:

On our first day, we visited the exhibition hall of Taiping Handbag Factory, China's first “the three-plus-one trading-mix” enterprise. I was captivated by the seventy-eight designs of various handbags, each showcasing the brand's unique style and craftsmanship, which are still impressive even by modern standards. The exhibition displayed production machinery from that era and recreated the daily processing environment, giving us a better understanding of Dongguan's manufacturing history.

Next, we visited the Dongguan Humen Naval Battle Museum. The exhibition introduced the background of the 1840 Humen naval battle, depicting the fierce scenes of the battle through images, full-screen videos, and precious artifacts like foreign cannons, deeply illustrating the fighting spirit of the people at that time. The guide was insightful and helped us gain a comprehensive understanding of this historical period.

This day's itinerary not only allowed me to appreciate exquisite craftsmanship but also gave me a profound insight into the weight of history, leading to a deeper reflection on Chinese culture.

Christina:
I was more than pleased to participate in the Greater Bay Area Career Exploration Tour and travel to Dongguan, a vibrant city in our country. This journey provided me with the opportunity to broaden my horizons and inspired my future career.

The most impressive experience would definitely be the visit to Tencent Cloud. The company has an extensive business scope, ranging from social communication to gaming and fintech, with WeChat being the most renowned. After the visit, we learnt how the company helps drive the development of the digital economy in Dongguan, utilizing its advantages in big data and artificial intelligence.

Besides visiting technology companies, we also explored the Songshan Lake Park. Not only did we find breathtaking natural scenery, but also European-style architecture that houses Huawei’s headquarters. We learnt that the city’s relatively lower labour costs and land prices significantly enhance its competitiveness, acting as a key contributor to attracting leading tech companies.

This life planning tour deepened my understanding of the rapid development and future opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, which provide limitless possibilities ready for us to explore