A group of 65 Olympians from the Chinese mainland, including 59 gold medalists at the Paris 2024 Olympics, arrived in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Thursday.
The delegation attended a welcome reception and banquet hosted by the SAR government on Thursday evening. On Friday, they visited the Hong Kong Sports Institute and interacted with local athletes, before attending a gala show in the evening. And they will attend a demonstration show on Saturday.
Hong Kong athletes and coaches expressed their hope to have more opportunities to communicate with and learn from mainland athletes.
"I am very happy and very excited. I guess I'm not alone, perhaps all the people in Hong Kong are also very happy about this. They are also looking forward to seeing their performances live. Because usually you see them in the arena, in fierce competitions. And this time their visit to Hong Kong will definitely be a more joyful kind of exhibition match. So we are also looking forward to it. I hope that this time we can have more gains outside the arena," said Hong Kong table tennis player Wong Chun-ting.
"The gold medalists' visit to Hong Kong is a great opportunity for Hong Kong athletes and professional athletes to get in close contact with them and exchange with them. I believe that their feelings for each other will go further through this exchange," said Li Ching, head coach of Hong Kong table tennis team.
The table tennis and swimming masters also have fun games and friendly exchanges with Hong Kong youth representatives at an event with the region's disciplined services.
Using pot lids, spatulas and dinner plates as rackets, Paris 2024 table tennis gold medalists Fan Zhendong and Ma Long had an interesting table tennis game with Hong Kong youth representatives. Mainland Olympian swimmers Pan Zhanle, who stormed to victory in the men's 100m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics, and Qin Haiyang, also imparted their swimming skills to Hong Kong youth representatives
The delegation is scheduled to depart on Saturday to begin a similar visit to Macao.
Mainland Olympians have friendly exchanges with Hong Kong athletes
Locals in northwest China's Gansu Province have pledged greater efforts to revitalize rural areas, protect cultural relics and enhance public services following President Xi Jinping's inspection tour in the province from Tuesday to Friday.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Wednesday stressed the importance of industrial development in revitalizing rural areas when visiting an apple production base in Gansu's Tianshui City.
In an apple orchard, Xi talked to local farmers and agro-technicians to learn about in detail the quality and specialty of Huaniu apple endemic to Tianshui, the planting techniques and sales.
Noting that the key to rural revitalization lies in industrial revitalization, Xi encouraged local villagers to make persistent efforts to make the apple industry bigger and stronger.
Located in the Maiji District of Tianshui City, the apple production base spans three townships and 25 villages, covering an area of 10,000 hectares.
Xi also visited the Fuxi Temple in Tianshui City. The temple is dedicated to Fuxi, a mythical ancestor of the Chinese nation.
Noting that the Fuxi Temple has significant historical and cultural values, Xi emphasized the importance of preserving and inheriting local cultural heritage, so that the wisdom and creativity of the ancestors will inspire the future generations.
On Wednesday, Xi visited the Maijishan Grottoes, where he carefully observed the caves, sculptures, and murals that date back over 1,600 years. He also engaged in friendly conversations with the preservation and restoration staff there.
Maijishan Grottoes is one of China's four largest Buddhist cave complexes, along with Mogao, Yungang and Longmen grottoes in Gansu, Shanxi and Henan provinces, respectively.
Highlighting the grottoes as treasures of the Chinese civilization, Xi called for greater contributions to the protection of national treasures and the inheritance of China's outstanding traditional culture.
"General Secretary Xi said on many occasions that we must effectively protect the precious heritages of our nation," said Yue Yongqiang, deputy director of the Maijishan Grottoes Art Research Institute.
Also on Wednesday, Xi inspected a local community in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu, where he stressed the importance of prioritizing elderly care and childcare in efforts to improve public services.
The Zaolinxi Community located in Lanzhou's Anning District is home to over 11,500 residents, with the elderly and children accounting for more than one-third of the population.
He emphasized the need to focus closely on the actual needs of residents, especially the elderly and children, and to continuously improve community services.
Wang Tong was one of the employees who shared stories with President Xi.
She is one of the grid-based community workers -- who are assigned to a certain number of households within the designated grid. When the residents are in need, they are the contact points for the locals.
Their daily responsibilities include collecting basic information, social conditions and public opinions, publicizing policies and laws, and helping with special population management.
"Although my work is about very small and detailed problems of the residents, and sometimes I feel tired and annoyed, but when you get the work done, then you can see the people's satisfaction and they thank you from the bottom of their hearts. That's when you feel very satisfied. I feel that I am valued at work, and I know my value," said Wang.
Locals pledge working harder following President Xi's inspection in Gansu
