CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

Professor Kenneth Young, College Master, and Ms Jade Cai, Project Assistant, led a group of 12 CW Chu College students on a three-day tour to the Pearl River Delta Area from 5 to 7 May 2015. The tour featured visits to notable companies, universities and cultural sites of the region.

Beginning in Shenzhen on 5 May, students visited two leading firms in Southern China: Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant, which presented the students with an overview of their innovation in fixed-line networks and mobile products, and Mainetti Shenzhen, branch office of the world-class manufacturer Mainetti, which showcased its production line and introduced its marketing strategy to participants. These visits were eye-opening for the students. Participants then visited The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) in the afternoon, and were greeted with enthusiasm by the professors and students there. After a campus tour, Mr Kin Chung Yuen, Vice-President (Administration), gave a talk about the origin and development of CUHK(SZ). That night, at dinner with teachers and students from CUHK(SZ), Professor Yangsheng Xu, the President, welcomed the CWC visitors and expressed his wish that such visits would pave the way for future cooperation and exchange with colleges in CUHK. Students from both sides, who already built friendship through the visit, exchanged gifts at the end of the dinner.

On 6 May, the group visited Zili Village in Kaiping, Guangdong province. Kaiping features Diaolou, multi-storied structures that served as both residence and defence towers, built in a fusion of Chinese and Western architectural styles.

The last day of the tour involved a visit to Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) and a range of activities organized by its History Department: a lecture on the history of modern China from the perspective of Guangzhou, a meeting with students majoring in History, and a campus tour, which included among other points of interest the former home of the historian Chen Yinke. The CWC group looks forward to welcoming the return visit of History Department, SYSU, in July or August 2015. In the afternoon, the group visited Huanghua Gang Commemorative Park, a tribute to revolutionaries who lost their lives during the famous uprising in Guangzhou on 27 April 1911. The uprising failed but played a crucial role in the success of the Chinese revolution of 1911, which culminated in the end of the Qing Dynasty and imperial rule.

Through this summer tour, CWC students gained better understanding of the culture and economics in the Pearl River Delta, a region from which many of our local students draw their ancestral roots.