Culture exchange, fifteen years is just a beginning

Cultural exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong have greatly increased since the land returned to China in 1997 and the unique cultures have influenced each other since.

According to the statistics from Ministry of Culture, the total number of cultural exchange projects between Hong Kong and mainland has reached 3,714 and nearly 60,000 people have been involved during the country's 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010).

Student exchanges increased

Since Hong Kong's universities started to enroll students from the mainland in 2005, many top students began to study in Hong Kong and the number has increased year by year. Hong Kong students were also welcomed by mainland universities amid growing cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland in almost every respect.

Students from Hong Kong climb the Great Wall in Beijing, May 9, 1997. [File photo/Xinhua]

The cooperation between universities from Hong Kong and mainland in science research and sharing has also been encouraged. And Hong Kong experts in higher education have been seeking and fostering closer bonds with their mainland counterparts in this field.

Film and TV industries take off

In the past 15 years, Hong Kong's pop culture, consisting of music, movies, and TV has developed well in the mainland and the cooperation between TV and movie companies from Hong Kong and Chinese mainland is growing owing to many movie stars starting to work in mainland.

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the mainland and Hong Kong has offer an opportunity for cooperation between film and TV industries of Hong Kong and the mainland.

Creative industry enhanced

The creative industry has been enhanced during the cooperation in the past 15 years. The Hong Kong government has launched numerous efforts to promote the industry which includes advertising, architecture, arts, craftwork, design, film, video production, music, and drama.

And the mainland with rich cultural resources has provided the creative talent a huge market.

In the 2010 Shanghai World Expo the Hong Kong pavilion with the theme "Hong Kong - the Infinite City," featured Hong Kong's unique connectivity with the mainland and the world in terms of hardware and software, as well as the city's links to nature, to the past and to the future, has attracted nearly two million visitors.

HK favorite destination for mainlanders

Known as the Asia's world city, Hong Kong attracts lots of Chinese mainlanders to visit. According to statistics, around 20 million mainland visitors travel to Hong Kong every year.

In order to boost Hong Kong's tourism industry, the SAR government has approved a series of measures. It now allows long term residents of Shenzhen to get multiple entry visas for one year's duration and more cities in the mainland are being explored to be added to the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), allowing mainland travelers to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis.

Culture is always the bridge linking people from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland and one of the best ways for people to know and understand each other. Only it needs time and fifteen years is just a beginning.