Newly admitted international students visit Duke Kunshan University in East China's Jiangsu Province in April. Photos: Courtesy of Duke Kunshan University

More and more Hong Kong students have decided to study at mainland universities mainly for opportunities, with some of them saying mainland universities could provide a more suitable and peaceful environment for them to focus on studies and a more diverse cultural and educational experience. 

Ashley Tse Hiu Hung, 29, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Youth Enlightenment, who is also a doctoral candidate at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that studying in the mainland, especially in Beijing, will broaden her outlook and vision, since staying in Hong Kong would limit her perspectives.

"Hong Kong is a city which implements the 'one country, two systems??principle, so studying in the mainland could help Hong Kong students better understand the 'one country,??the country's policies and remarkable development, and then we can learn how to find a place for Hong Kong in this historic trend,??Tse noted.

Calvin Chan, another Hong Kong student who studied at Peking University, said at Hong Kong universities, "we only get to know students with very similar backgrounds and opinions. But in mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we can make friends with so many talented and hardworking mainland students with diverse backgrounds and points of view. It's just like opening a new world for students like me, and it is truly valuable.??o:p>

Data released by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (Hong Kong) in April, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Education, showed that in 2019, 10,433 Hong Kong students signed up to take the entrance exams of mainland universities, and the students who signed up for Hong Kong college entrance exams dropped by more than 2,800.

At the same time, Hong Kong students who applied for test-free enrollment at mainland universities increased 9.2 percent, the highest since the policy was implemented in 2012.

Gong Wan, director general of the service center, told the Xinhua News Agency more Hong Kong students have decided to study in the mainland not only because of the development and improvement of mainland universities, but also because more of them are optimistic about the country's development.

The 21st Century Business Herald said on Tuesday many Hong Kong students who decided to study and work in mainland cities like Shenzhen, which is also a fast growing international city bordering Hong Kong, believe that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy is a golden opportunity, and if they study and intern in both Hong Kong and the mainland, it would give them an edge.