Exchange Programme with Hangzhou Foreign Languages School (7-11 April 2025)
7th April was a highly anticipated day for all of us. After almost 2 school terms, 30 S4 girls accompanied by teachers Mrs. V Ma, Mrs. J Hau and Mr. C Lam eagerly set off to Hangzhou for a 5-day exchange tour to one of our sister schools, Hangzhou Foreign Languages School (HFLS).
Arriving early in the afternoon, we got a glimpse of the beautiful city by exploring one of its scenic towns – Wuzhen. We walked throughout the seemingly quaint town during the day, exploring the nooks and crannies of each narrow street surrounded by ancient dwellings, even visiting a small museum displaying old artworks of clay carvings. At night, the town was bustling with tourists and numerous shops opened their doors for business, selling interesting trinkets or cultural snacks. It was an eye-opening experience and we were all fully immersed in the atmosphere, as we took countless scenic pictures during the boat ride at night, capturing every wonder presented to us. The lake reflected bursts of orange and green, illuminated by the glowing houses on stilts on each side of the channel shaded by willow trees. A swarm of goldfish was found in one of the ponds next to a restaurant as tourists gleefully looked upon their dazzling scales.
We arrived at Hangzhou Foreign Languages School at 6 pm on the second day and were greeted by a buffet at the cafeteria. Before officially attending lessons at the school, we had an initial meet-up with our buddies in the evening and chatted briefly regarding the lesson arrangements for the next day. We were greeted enthusiastically by the students, learning more about the classes available during the chat, and even received a bag of thoughtful gifts. We then returned to our dormitory and had a restful night of sleep, eager for the next day’s activities.
In the early morning, we rose to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight shining in from the large window in our dormitory rooms. We had a delicious meal at the school’s cafeteria which has 3 floors, and were then escorted by one of the students for a tour around the campus. The campus was huge compared to regular schools in Hong Kong, filled with grand buildings, gorgeous greenery and plenty of open space – something that is hard to come by at home. We learned about some famous alumni from the school, such as TEMU’s founder, Colin Huang, and attended a meeting with our headmistress Mrs. Lau and the principal of Hangzhou Foreign Languages School.
Before lessons, we participated in the whole-school exercise session in the playground with our buddies, which takes place every day. After the invigorating exercise, we followed our buddies to the respective classrooms. Our first lesson was English and it was surprisingly engaging. Initially, we thought the students might be disinterested, since English was not their first language, but students were extremely responsive in terms of answering questions and actively contributing to the discussions. We were thoroughly impressed by their enthusiasm, which seemed endless when it comes to students at HFLS. In the second lesson – math, the teacher happened to be teaching geometry, something we went over last year, and yet the questions that she went over in class were still considerably challenging and we took notes alongside our buddies.
Later in the day, we had lunch together in the cafeteria and attended calligraphy class. The teacher was extremely skilled and demonstrated his calligraphy on a piece of paper placed directly on the blackboard. We were given ink in a small dish and a brush and completed the words “春風化雨無聲” under his verbal guidance. Regardless of the final result, we all felt accomplished and had a sense of connection with Chinese culture after completing our work. We then proceeded to PE class where we participated in table tennis. The teacher paired us with the HFLS students so we could interact with each other. Despite the initial awkwardness, we quickly warmed up to each other and their students were eager to give us advice as we played.
In the evening, we had an exchange event in which students from both schools went on stage to perform in groups. The charming acts and mutual engagement slowly melted away the unfamiliarity between us and broke the ice. In the end, we even took part in a game of “Telephone” that prompted much laughter from the audience.
On the fourth day, we joined our buddies for dumpling-making in the cafeteria. It was a hectic but joyous event – several trays of dumpling skin were laid out on combined cafeteria tables with bowls of meat filling scattered across the surface. It was entertaining witnessing the production of differently shaped dumplings – some elegant, some lumpy, all edible. Later that night, we watched a musical that took place within the school. It was an enjoyable performance about national pride and the live singing was great.
One of the highlights of the study tour was the trip to West Lake on the last day. In the morning, we boarded the train and arrived at Huanglong Cave station, ready to go up the mountain next to West Lake. When we arrived, we were stunned by the grandeur and height of the mountains- towering trees and bamboo shoots filled our vision and we gazed upwards to breathe in the woody scent. Although we had to hike up the treacherous rocky steps, it was a fortunately short hike as we only had to go up to the first peak. The view was absolutely breathtaking, including a wide shot of the West Lake and the downward slopes of the mountain we were on. Afterward, we traveled back down to the bottom of the mountain and strolled along the West Lake. From a distance, the colors of the pale blue sky and the lake mixed into a smooth gradient with only the bridge separating them. It painted a serene picture of peace and balance. We even came across ducks gliding across the lake as we continued the leisurely stroll.
Sadly, the 5-day trip ended much quicker than we expected. We exchanged gifts with our buddies to thank them for their warm hospitality and took pictures to commemorate the friendships we made. We had a bittersweet goodbye and eventually left Hangzhou, while promising to stay in contact with our buddies.
We would like to thank our teachers, Mrs. Ma, Mrs. Hau, and Mr. Lam, who have ensured the smooth running of our entire journey and have guided us throughout the whole trip. We would also like to thank the staff at HFLS for planning and arranging activities for the trip, our tour guide, as well as the two students at HFLS who guided us throughout the school and West Lake tour. Most importantly, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mrs. Lau for providing us with this eye-opening experience with the students in our sister schools on the Mainland and the valuable opportunity to learn so much beyond the classroom.