News
Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Secondary School Students (2025/26) (5)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate 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 Secondary School Students (2025/26) (5)” (the Programmes). In line with the school curriculum, the Programmes aim at providing different learning experiences for students to enhance their understanding of the history, culture and natural environment etc. of the Mainland provinces and cities (including Shenyang, Fushun, Fuzhou and Wuyishan), thereby enhancing their sense of national identity.
The EDB has commissioned service providers to organise two tours, ranging from four to five days outside the Guangdong Province for 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 interested to participate in the Programmes SYFS and FZWYS 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 Programme SYFS) or 2892 6432 (for the Programme FZWYS). 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. 174/2025. (Download)