Feature: Seeing is understanding -- Hong Kong, Macao students explore country's development firsthand in Beijing

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- In the Chinese capital, groups of Cantonese-speaking students from Hong Kong and Macao made for a distinctive sight as they journeyed from iconic landmarks to cultural and technological venues.

The students, totaling around 1,000, are members of flag-raising teams from schools and universities across the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs). They wrapped up their five-day visit to Beijing on Tuesday, with paying tribute to the national flag as its central theme.

The itinerary took them to the Great Hall of the People, the Palace Museum, the station of the Chinese People's Liberation Army guard of honor, as well as schools, companies, and science and technology sites -- offering them a firsthand look at the Chinese capital and a deeper understanding of their homeland.

Dyun Jeoi Ming, a student from Zheng Guanying Official School in Macao, gathered with his peers at Tian'anmen Square at dawn on Sunday for the national flag-raising ceremony. They stood in silence as the guards marched into view and joined in the national anthem as the five-starred red flag was slowly raised.

Though having watched the ceremony countless times on television and on the phone, Dyun said seeing it in person was an entirely different experience. "Standing here today, I am moved beyond words," he said.

For many of the students, raising the national flag is already a familiar part of school life in Hong Kong and Macao. Since their respective returns to China in the late 1990s, the two SARs have retained their capitalist systems and ways of life under the "one country, two systems" principle, but national flag-raising ceremonies and national security education have increasingly become an established part of school life.

In recent years, a wide range of initiatives have also helped young locals forge a better understanding of the country, from joining live "Tiangong Class" space lectures delivered by Chinese astronauts in orbit, to visiting Chinese naval vessels docking in Hong Kong, and taking part in study and exchange programs on the mainland.

As the students set off for Beijing this time, Kong Chi Meng, director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau of the Macao SAR government, said the trip was of "great significance," as it would help the participants strengthen their sense of national identity.

Over the past few days, the students visited historical sites including the ruins of the Old Summer Palace, or "Yuanmingyuan" in Chinese, and a tunnel warfare site, gaining a firsthand glimpse into China's painful wartime history and its resistance against foreign aggression.

Other experiences, from marveling at masterpieces of ancient Chinese bronze craftsmanship to exploring deep-sea laser spectroscopic probes and watching robotic arms swiftly operate along auto production lines, left the students in awe.

"Seeing firsthand what cannot be found in textbooks, I have come to better appreciate the wisdom behind the saying, 'One needs to not only read 10,000 books, but also travel 10,000 miles to know the world around us,'" said Cheung Wing-sam, from Cognitio College in Hong Kong.

Divided into groups, they also visited a dozen primary and secondary schools and universities in Beijing, where they talked and performed with their mainland counterparts.

Xu Xiangyue, deputy head of the Peking University flag guard team, said that students from Hong Kong and Macao come from different campuses and have different life experiences, but "when the national anthem plays and the national flag rises, our eyes naturally turn in the same direction."

For some, the trip may also open a window onto future possibilities, allowing them to align their personal aspirations with the country's broader development.

A senior student surnamed Chan at City University of Hong Kong said that an increasing number of university students in Hong Kong are considering pursuing career opportunities on the mainland after graduation.

"This event gives me a valuable opportunity to see for myself what the mainland is like," said Chan, who plans to share the experience with fellow students after returning to Hong Kong.