As the Chinese proverb goes “Reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles”. We, as S4 students, were given the wonderful chance to visit Shenzhen, not just to read and learn about our country from textbooks, but to actually experience the wonders of China in real life during our Citizenship and Social Development (CS) trip — a two-day cultural tour to Shenzhen from 14 May to 15 May 2026.
On our first day, we got to visit three different locations. Our first stop was the Bao’an District Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. We were invited to step into a globe-like structure to watch an immersive video. The near-360-degree screen surrounded us, letting us view China in a futuristic perspective. There were also state-of-the-art simulators that immersed us in the bay area with a jet pack, a speedboat, and a bicycle. Overall, the exhibition hall showcases the bay area’s views and Bao’an’s future planning of their urban space innovatively. Next, we went to the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub. It introduces different innovative technology as there were displays of sports gears and training machines everywhere. It is also an incubator for nurturing young entrepreneur and it definitely inspired us as teenagers. To wrap up the day, we went to the Shenzhen Nanshan Museum. It is amazing to learn about the history of China in greater detail as the displays in the museum are so realistic. The figures of historical men and women helped us understand the cultures and traditions of our country, and how the people transformed China from a simple village to a modern country through perseverance and resilience.
On the second day, we visited two museums. The first was the Shenzhen Museum, which hosts multiple exhibitions about the history of China’s culture. It features precious relics related to folk culture and displays that reflect the living conditions of people in the past. The other site we visited is the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-Up Exhibition Hall. The exhibitions here focus on the Guangdong reform-and-opening-up policy, utilising photographs, physical items, videos and more to help us understand the full course and achievements of the policy. Both museums gave us a chance to witness China’s history up close and appreciate the brilliance of its developmental policies.
This meaningful trip to Shenzhen provided us with first-hand experience to learn more about China. Whether it was through visiting museum that tell the story of China’s past and future, or simply witnessing the amazing architecture and technology around the city, we certainly gained a deeper understanding of our country and culture.