Organised by the Education Bureau (Applicable to Primary and Secondary Schools)
An Exploration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cities (2024/25)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites primary and secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate Primary 4 to Secondary 3 students and teachers (including principals) to participate in the captioned programme. Relevant information will also be sent to schools via the “Fast Information Transmission System - School Messaging Module” (SMM).
Details
The Education Bureau (EDB) organises the “An Exploration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cities (2024/25)” (the Programme). In line with the school curriculum, the Programme aims to provide different learning experiences for students to enhance their understanding of the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities in technology, aviation, economy, urban planning and natural ecology and learn the strengths of and opportunities for Hong Kong and respective GBA cities, thereby developing their sense of national identity.
EDB has commissioned service providers to organise 7 tours ranging from one to two days in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA cities between October 2024 and August 2025 for Primary 4 to Secondary 3 students to join. Please refer to Annex 1 (Chinese version only) for details of the Programme and application procedures, and Annex 2 (Chinese version only) for the itineraries and other information of the 7 tours.
Schools should proactively encourage students who have not joined any Mainland exchange programmes before 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 intending to nominate students and teachers to participate in the Programme may download the application form from the website of respective service providers from 20 September 2024. The completed application form should be returned to respective service provider by fax within the specified period of time (refer to Annex 2 (Chinese version only)) before the planned departure date of the tour.
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.
Enquiry
For enquiries about the enrolment and itineraries, please contact respective service provider. For general enquiries about the Programme, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of the EDB on 2892 6517 or 2892 6472. For more information about the Mainland exchange programmes for students, please visit the “Passing on the Torch” website (http://www.passontorch.org.hk/en/index.html).
For further details of the Scheme, please refer to the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 166/2024. (Download)