A group of 13 Hong Kong students visit Shanxi University on June 18. [Photo/sxu.edu.cn]

A group of 13 Hong Kong students toured Shanxi University on June 18 as a part of a Shanxi-Hong Kong student exchange program.

The students visited the university’s history museum and research center for Chinese social history, learning the history of Shanxi University, Shanxi culture and the local social customs through different periods in China. They also viewed an art exhibition held by Academy of Fine Arts and the academy's ceramics studio, appreciating traditional Chinese arts such as Chinese calligraphy and painting.

Hong Kong and Shanxi University students visit a calligraphy and painting exhibition of Zhang Tiesuo, an alumnus of Shanxi University, on June 18. [Photo/sxu.edu.cn]

Li Xiaolin, director of the United Front Work Department at Shanxi University, hopes that the visit will help encourage more communication between Shanxi and Hong Kong, promoting friendships among students from the two regions and advancing the development of education in Shanxi and Hong Kong.

Launched by the Hong Kong Shanxi Chamber of Commerce and related Shanxi authorities in 2015, the annual exchange program aims to help young students in Hong Kong learn more about the Chinese mainland and boost cooperation between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The 13 Hong Kong students will intern at seven companies and institutions in Shanxi over the next month.