Ten secondary three students and a teacher joined a Shanxi exchange tour held by the Education Bureau from 22 April to 26 April, 2019. Our school is one of the eight schools participating in the tour. The tour was wonderful and memorable.

The highlights of the tour were the visits to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely, the ancient city of Pingyao, Yungang Grottoes, and Yanmen Pass of the Great Wall of China. Participants were stunned by these World Heritages which were built more than two thousand years ago. They have been carefully preserved amid years of weathering and erosion. Walking through them was like returning to ancient China when people lived a simple and traditional life.

Besides the World Heritages, students also went to a university, museum and solar farm. Students visited Taiyuan University of Technology and had exchanges with the university students there. Students learnt the detailed history and modern technology of coal mining while visiting Datong Coal Museum. The visit to the Panda Green Energy Group was another highlight in the tour. The Hong Kong-owned company established the largest solar farm in Shanxi by applying the winning design as the image of the Giant Panda in constructing the farm. Its logo with an aerial view of panda-shaped farm is so appealing that it greatly helps the promotion of green energy in China and to the rest of the world. Its contribution to the development of renewable energy in China is impressive.

Throughout the trip, students collected data for a study about the "sustainability of the World Heritage Sites" in Shanxi, a topic agreed by our students prior to the tour. Interviews and record-taking have been carried out throughout the trip. These data will then be analysed and presented in a report and a sharing session in May and June respectively. All in all, the trip is definitely highly educational and full of fun and learning.