News
Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Secondary School Students (2024/25) (9)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate Secondary 1 to 6 students and teachers (including principals) to participate in the captioned programmes. Relevant information will also be sent to schools via the “Fast Information Transmission System - School Messaging Module” (SMM).
Details
The Education Bureau (EDB) organises “Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Secondary School Students (2024/25) (9)” (the Programmes). In line with the school curriculum, the Programmes aims at providing different learning experiences for students to enhance their understanding of the history and culture, customs of ethnic groups, geological heritage, and natural environment etc. of the Mainland provinces and cities (including Fuzhou, Wuyishan, Kunming and Tengchong), thereby enhancing their sense of national identity.
The EDB has commissioned service providers to organise three tours outside the Guangdong Province, ranging from four to five days, for Secondary 1 to 6 students. Please refer to Annex 1 (Chinese version only) for details of the Programmes and application procedures, and Annex 2 (Chinese version only) for the itinerary of respective tours.
Schools should proactively encourage students who have not joined any Mainland exchange programmes to participate in at least one subsidised Mainland exchange programme (MEP) in their secondary stage. In addition, starting from 10 July 2024, non-Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of Hong Kong may apply for the “Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Permanent Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens)” from the China Travel Service Entry Permit Service Hong Kong Limited. Schools should remind eligible students to complete the application procedures soon so that they can use the E-channels at ports of entry for immigration clearance and need not fill in the Arrival Card when entering the Mainland, thus enhancing clearance efficiency. For details, please refer to the respective webpage (https://www.ctshk.com/mep/zh/nrep_notice_mep/).
Schools may apply for more than one tour in the 2024/25 school year. Interested schools are requested to return the completed application form (Chinese version only) to the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of the EDB by email before the respective deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Starting from the 2024/25 school year, schools will receive the latest itinerary information and application details of MEPs for students via the SMM. During the transitional period, the EDB will continue to issue individual Circular Memoranda on MEPs and adjust relevant arrangements based on actual circumstances.
Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of the EDB. For more information about MEPs, please visit the “Passing on the Torch” website (https://www.passontorch.org.hk/en/index.html).
For further details of the Scheme, please refer to the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 10/2025. (Download)
Download
Passing on the Torch Platform” Programme Series: An Exploration into the History, Culture and Natural Environment in Fuzhou and Wuyishan (2024/25) - Application form (Chinese version only) [download]
Passing on the Torch Platform” Programme Series: An Exploration into the History, Culture and Natural Environment in Tengchong, Yunnan (2024/25) - Application form (Chinese version only) [download]
An Exploration into the History, Ethnic Culture and Geological Heritage of Yunnan (2024/25) - Application form (Chinese version only) [download]