Roundup: "The Spirit of the Times Shines on the Xiangjiang River" Activities Follow Experts Say Encouraging Hong Kong Youth and Hebei to Flow Long Water

Hong Kong, 2 Jan (China News Service) -- Since June last year, a number of "spirit of the times yao xiangjiang" activities have been held in Hong Kong one after another: not only the first public appearance of the moon and the soil, but also the visit of the mainland Olympic athletes to Hong Kong, as well as the "dialogue between heaven and earth" between astronauts and Hong Kong youth. A number of Hong Kong scientists said in an interview with the China News Agency reporter that the series of activities have a positive and encouraging effect on Hong Kong youth, scientific workers and Hong Kong people, and look forward to holding them regularly in the future, so that this influence will flow for a long time.

On the morning of December 5, 2021, some members of the Mainland Olympic athletes' delegation to Hong Kong attended the "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Mainland Olympic Athletes meet with the public" activity. The picture shows the members of the mainland Olympic athletes visiting Hong Kong interacting with teachers, students and citizens at the scene. Photo by Li Zhihua, a reporter of China News Service

On June 22 last year, a team of scientists responsible for major national space projects such as the "Long March", "Shenzhou", "Beidou", "Tianwen" and "Chang'e" arrived in Hong Kong for a five-day visit. During his stay in Hong Kong, Qi Faxuan, the first chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft, Long Lehao, chief designer of the Long March series of rockets, and other outstanding scientists visited Universities and middle schools in Hong Kong intensively, bringing many unique "aerospace lessons" to Hong Kong youth. This was followed by the first public display of the lunar soil brought back by Chang'e-5 from the moon in 2020 in Hong Kong.

A team led by Professor Wu Bo of the Department of Land Surveying and Geoinformatics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University participated in the tianwen-1 probe's mission to land on Mars, responsible for the analysis of the topography of Mars and assisting in the selection of candidate landing areas. Wu Bo told the China News Service that after June last year, many principals came with middle school students and primary school students. They visited the lab and were interested in the work and technology of the research team, and some students even expressed their desire to become polytechnic students in the future and participate in it.

Such a visit, Wu Bo will receive several times almost every month. During the lunar exhibition, a virtual reality system that can feel the landing sites of the moon and Mars, as well as the state of traveling between different planets, triggered a "long queue" of visitors. Wu Bo said that in order to allow more Hong Kong people to enhance their understanding of the national space industry, the system is expected to be exhibited at the Hong Kong Space Museum in the future. "These activities have had a very positive and encouraging effect on hong Kong's youth and young students, helping to enhance their sense of pride and belonging."

In addition to improving space knowledge, Hong Kong youth have had two opportunities in the past six months to have direct dialogue with astronauts on missions. On September 3 last year, Shenzhou 12 astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, who were in the Tianhe core module, launched a "heaven and earth dialogue" with nearly 300 young students in Hong Kong. On the first day of 2022, more than 100 Hong Kong students talked about their space dreams with astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu on the Tiangong Space Station through on-site connection.

Chen Qingquan, the first academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Hong Kong and an honorary professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong, believes that only when a nation has the ambition to explore the universe can this nation have hope. China's aerospace science and technology has entered the space power in a shorter period of time and less money than foreign countries, indicating that the Chinese nation has a strong ability to innovate. These activities are of special significance and an inspiration for Hong Kong youth, scientists and every Hong Kong person, and I hope that the forms of activities will be more diversified in the future.

Since June last year, the series of activities of "The Spirit of the Times Shines on the River" has also demonstrated to Hong Kong people the achievements of national construction and allowed Hong Kong people to have close contact with Olympic athletes. The theme exhibition of the construction of major countries and the exchange activities of the mainland Olympic athletes visiting Hong Kong were held at the end of October and the beginning of December last year.

Huang Naizheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emeritus chair and research professor of chemistry at the University of Chinese of Hong Kong, and founding academician of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, expressed the hope that these activities will be held every year to play the role of long-term water and affect the generations and two generations of young students in Hong Kong. He particularly mentioned that many students in Hong Kong are interested in participating in the country's aerospace projects and look forward to more opportunities for Hong Kong youth to visit and intern at the mainland's space bases in the future, paving the way for them to participate in the national space industry. (End)

Source: China News Network