HKUHSF Delegation Visits Beijing Academy for a School Exchange

With crabapple trees in bloom and longer spring days, Beijing Academy welcomed more than 100 visitors from the Hong Kong University Graduates Association College (HKUHSF) on April 15, 2026. Vice Principal Yang Jiwen led the delegation, which included administrators and teachers as well as students. Their visit to the main campus offered opportunities to share educational experience and learn about one another's cultures.

A Campus Tour

The delegation arrived at 8:30 a.m., when Vice Principal Ms. Zhou and the welcome team greeted them at the gate. After a group photograph, the day's activities began.





Teachers guided the visitors through the school history museum and open library, then the gymnasium and auditorium, followed by the playground and other shared spaces. The museum introduced Beijing Academy's development and achievements. The visitors were particularly interested in the advanced facilities in the gymnasium and the auditorium's multipurpose performance spaces. These practical, welcoming spaces reflect the school's ethos of Harmony in Diversity, Joy in Learning. They support students' individual development and offer room to explore different interests. Members of the delegation frequently paused to ask about the details as they experienced campus life.

Sharing Educational Experience

Hong Kong SAR China students joined Beijing Academy partners in small groups and attended regular lessons across several divisions and grades. Subjects included Chinese and Mathematics, along with Science. The visitors were impressed by the interactive lessons and the students' independent inquiry.







At the meeting that followed, both schools watched Beijing Academy's tenth-anniversary film. Vice Principal Ms. Zhou and HKUHSF representatives introduced their schools' distinctive approaches and achievements in student development. They discussed incorporating AI into teaching and sharing international curricula, as well as their experience of middle school education. They reached an initial agreement to explore further visits by teachers and students and collaboration on courses.





Getting to Know One Another

After lunch, students joined a series of informal activities.

During Words Across the Miles, students paired up to exchange handwritten postcards. Their messages expressed the kindness and enthusiasm of their first meeting, giving each student a keepsake of a new friendship.







For the friendly basketball game, students from both schools formed mixed teams. Cheers came from the court and the sidelines as they played together. Art teachers from the high school division and BAID also offered workshops in traditional Chinese culture. Visiting students could choose printmaking or calligraphy, traditional Chinese music, or dragon and lion dancing. Practicing these arts gave them a closer understanding of the culture they share.

As the afternoon ended, teachers and students exchanged gifts and said their reluctant goodbyes.

Student Reflections

Deng Zihan

When students from our Hong Kong SAR China partner school arrived, their smiles conveyed excitement about meeting us. Our day together included three lessons and a shared lunch, followed by a friendly basketball game. Each part of the visit has become a precious memory.

The morning's lessons helped us get to know one another. In STEM, we built simple robots in groups. The Hong Kong SAR China students were quick with ideas and skilled at design and programming, while we had more experience assembling the parts. We divided the work, discussed designs and adjusted components, becoming comfortable together through cooperation. In English Literature, we read classic texts and shared our interpretations. Their perspectives helped me understand the writing more deeply. In English, we practiced conversations and role plays in groups. I learned from their pronunciation and helped them with their Mandarin. Our laughter brought us closer.

At lunch, we sat together in the cafeteria and shared our food, including Beijing zhajiangmian and Hong Kong SAR China snacks. We talked about school and our interests, then our hometowns and hopes for the future. We gradually felt relaxed enough to talk openly. Sincere greetings and smiles made an ordinary meal especially meaningful.

The afternoon basketball game gave us another chance to enjoy being together. We cooperated as teammates and competed wholeheartedly as opponents, putting effort into every pass and shot and working together on defense. When someone fell, players from both schools helped them up; when someone scored, everyone applauded. The pleasure came from playing together in a friendly atmosphere. By the end, our jerseys were soaked with sweat and our friendships had grown.

As the sun set, we exchanged small gifts and promised to keep in touch. We had learned together and become closer, discovering how much connects students from Beijing and Hong Kong SAR China. I will remember the time we spent in class and over lunch, and the effort we shared on the court.

Li Yichen

In the April sunshine, I welcomed a Hong Kong SAR China student to BAID as my partner for the exchange. We spent a full and memorable day together and began a friendship.

We first became comfortable with one another in STEM. As the teacher wrote the sizes of the planets on the board and played a video about the universe, we were already getting along well. She told me stories about Hong Kong SAR China's culture, and I shared what I knew about Beijing's history. Our conversations led to unexpected discoveries. We exchanged gifts to remember our new friendship, finding similar feelings despite our different backgrounds.

In English Literature and Writing, we listened to an English song and discussed it. Her careful interpretation helped me consider the lyrics differently and appreciate how people from different places can connect through literature. In English, our group considered how to build a giant panda conservation center and the challenges pandas currently face. As we completed our poster, I saw how language helped us work together.

After lunch, we joined Words Across the Miles. With traditional Chinese music playing, we wrote good wishes to each other on postcards. The basketball game was the most exciting part of the afternoon. My partner and I sat together in the stands and cheered for both teams. We stood to applaud good shots and instinctively wanted to help whenever a player fell. At those moments, we all felt part of the same group.

One day gave us time to become close, even though we still had so much we wanted to say. I am grateful for this visit and the friendship it gave me. I believe we will become even closer over time, despite the distance between our homes.

Zhang Yunning

I hosted a student from our Hong Kong SAR China partner school and spent the morning attending lessons with her. I vividly remember our nervous first hello and our reluctance to say goodbye at the end of that special morning.

We attended Modern Chinese History, where Ms. Ji Wenyun played a clip from The Age of Awakening. It introduced important figures in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. The Hong Kong SAR China students were less familiar with simplified characters and Mandarin. They understood the broad historical developments but wanted help with particular people and events. Seeing my partner's puzzled expression, I opened my history textbook to the relevant passage. I explained it using Mandarin mixed with English, the languages I could share with her. When we discussed the Treaty of Nanjing, many of the visitors knew its provisions well, including my partner. She became more confident, pointed to the bauhinia flower on her chest and smiled at me.

The morning passed quickly. In the final Words Across the Miles activity, we wrote letters to each other. Our handwriting recorded the excitement of discovering new things, with references to Beijing roast duck and the Great Wall, as well as Peking Opera. Growing up in Beijing and Hong Kong SAR China had given us different surroundings, while our shared national history connected us and strengthened our identification with Chinese culture. Studying that history together and talking about our attachment to our country deepened our sense of kinship.

Wang Yiran

It felt wonderful to attend a lesson with a student from Hong Kong SAR China. When we wrote postcards after lunch, we both carefully wrote "Keep in touch." I gave her a scenic refrigerator magnet I had bought at Huangshan during the winter break, hoping to introduce her to more of the mainland's landscapes and customs. She gave me a Hong Kong SAR China snack and told me amusing stories about her school. We discovered plenty to talk about despite our different backgrounds: we both enjoy Western singers and American television series. I will treasure the time we spent together.

Gao Jiawei

The day I spent with our Hong Kong SAR China visitors left me with affectionate memories. I especially remember reading poetry together in class, paying close attention to every word and line. Afterwards, we wrote postcards as keepsakes. I gave a refrigerator magnet from the National Museum's gift collection and received special snacks they had brought from Hong Kong SAR China. The gifts were modest, and the sincerity behind them made us both smile. I hope our friendship continues, and that we can meet again when I visit Hong Kong SAR China.