News
Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Primary and Secondary School Students (2025/26) (3)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites primary and secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate Primary 4 to 6 and Secondary 2 to 6 students and teaching staff (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 Primary and Secondary School Students (2025/26) (3)” (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, culture, technology and intangible cultural heritage etc. of the Mainland provinces and cities (including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing and Shijiazhuang), thereby enhancing their sense of national identity.
The EDB has commissioned service providers to organise four tours outside the Guangdong Province and three tours in the Guangdong Province, ranging from two to five days, for Primary 4 to 6 and Secondary 2 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 primary and secondary stages. 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 2025/26 school year. Schools intending to nonimate students and teaching staff to participate in the Programmes GZI, NJH and NJS may download the application form from the websites of the respective service providers from 26 August 2025. The completed application form should be returned to the service providers by email or fax within the specified period (Please refer to Annex 2) before the planned departure date of the tour. Schools interested to participate in the Programmes FSI, ZSI, SHI and BJSJZ may download the application form from the “Passing on the Torch” website or Annex 1, and return the completed application form 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. The EDB will continue to issue individual Circular Memoranda on MEPs and adjust relevant arrangements based on actual circumstances.
Enquiries
For enquiries about the enrolment and itineraries, please contact the service providers. For general enquiries of the Programmes, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 on 2892 6304 (for the trip of GZI、NJH、NJS、FSI、ZSI), 2892 6436 (for the trip of BJSJZ) or 2892 6472 (for the trip of SHI). 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. 130/2025. (Download)
Downloads
“Passing on the Torch Platform” Programme Series: An Exploration into the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Foshan (2025/26) - Application form (Chinese version only) (Download)
Passing on the Torch Platform” Programme Series: An Exploration into the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Zhongshan (2025/26) - Application form (Chinese version only) (Download)
An Exploration into the History and Traditional Culture in Beijing and Shijiazhuang (2025/26) - Application form (Chinese version only) (Download)
Promoting Chinese Culture Series: An Exploration into the History and Cultural Heritage in Shanghai - Application form (Chinese version only) (Download)