by Chan Pui Ying, Wang Xu

July 1 this year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. A group of young people, who turned 25 years old this year, shared with Xinhua their stories and their wish to contribute to a better future of Hong Kong.

TELL WORLD HONG KONG'S CHARISMA

Loraine Chan was born in 1997 and she now works at a hotel. "I can enjoy the breathtaking view of Victoria Harbor every night from the hotel. It never fails to amaze me," Chan said.

Meeting guests from around the world is part of Chan's daily job. "Usually they would happily share with me their adventures, like places they visited or food they tried in Hong Kong," she told Xinhua.

To Chan, Hong Kong is an East-meets-West city that embraces different cultures. "Here you will see a fusion of traditions and modernity. I think Hong Kong is a vibrant and dynamic place," she said.

Time-honored stores, foreign cuisines and local delicacies, skyscrapers, beautiful mountains and islands ... Chan is always enthusiastic when she introduces these wonders of Hong Kong to foreign guests staying at her hotel, hoping their journeys will be pleasant and memorable.

"I feel proud every time guests praise Hong Kong or say they want to visit again," she said with a smile.

In March this year, a group of special guests arrived in the hotel, a team of medical staff from the mainland, who came to support Hong Kong's fight against the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the team was put under closed-loop management, Chan did not have a chance to meet them in person. Nevertheless, she still cared for them very much.

Chan was responsible for their meals. Witnessing their selfless hard work, she felt the bond between compatriots from Hong Kong and the mainland, and also the care for Hong Kong by the motherland.

"I realized that I might have actually contributed to fighting the battle against the pandemic in my own way, when the mainland medical staff thanked me for my service," Chan said.

She hopes that she can continue to contribute to Hong Kong in the future. She wants to show the world the charisma of Hong Kong.

SERVE HONG KONG WITH HEART

Eva Yu, who is celebrating her 25th birthday this year, joined the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government as an immigration officer in 2019. So far, her work has been mostly related to the fight against COVID-19.

Her experience in the initial period of less than six months included service in the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit and then in the Contact Tracking Office. She was sent to work at the mobile cabin hospital for COVID-19 patients located in Tsing Yi in the early stage of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong.

"It was almost midnight when I first arrived at the mobile cabin hospital, but a lot of my colleagues were still running around moving supplies and discussing about how to make the hospital operation smoother," she recalled.

Yu said that she had never stopped learning from her colleagues and everyday tasks. The most valuable lesson she learnt from working at the anti-epidemic front was to be compassionate.

"I tried to stand in the shoes of those staying in the mobile cabin hospital," Yu told Xinhua. "I hoped their heart felt warm during the difficult time."

Apart from the daily routine including swiftly getting rooms ready for occupants and updating case records, Yu and her colleagues did a little more, they paid visits to the patients in need, did homework tutoring for children, and arranged for sign language interpreters to assist those with hearing impairment.

When the fifth wave of infections was at its peak, Yu was deeply touched as she saw people from all walks of life offering help, including frontline medical staff, disciplined forces members, volunteers and taxi drivers.

"I felt that Hong Kong people were helping each other out like a family," Yu said, adding that this makes her even more proud of Hong Kong.

Yu believes that there are numerous opportunities awaiting the young people in Hong Kong. "I hope that we young people have the courage to chase our dreams, to not give in to difficulties, to persevere and not give up, to give full play to our potential, and to make our contributions to the future development of Hong Kong."

"PROUD TO BUILD FOR HONG KONG"

Law Kai-wai, a civil engineer trainee for the China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Limited, was also born in 1997.

The construction of the mainland-aided mobile cabin hospitals for COVID-19 patients fascinated Law very much. "It felt like it was being built overnight." Law said. "It took only two to three days for a piece of overgrown land to be covered by concrete, then within two to three weeks an entire mobile cabin hospital was completed."

Law was also greatly impressed by the hard-working construction team. Managers, engineers and workers all seemed to work non-stop in building the mobile cabin hospitals, he said.

The Potala Palace, a landmark architecture in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, was one of the stunning architectural gems that left Law in awe during his trips to the mainland. He was amazed by its construction being completed at such a high altitude without any assistance of modern construction equipment.

Law is currently working for construction of the Sky Bridge at the Hong Kong International Airport. The 200-meter-long Sky Bridge is anticipated to be the world's longest airside bridge. It can allow the largest passenger aircraft, Airbus A380, to pass underneath.

The project is extremely difficult due to various restrictions at the construction site, as it can not obstruct normal functioning of the airport. Hence, the constructors have adopted a number of new technologies. For example, the main bridge's large-span steel structure components will be pre-assembled off-site, shipped in segments, and then installed at the site.

"You see? Our bridge is pieces being assembled together!" Law is very excited to be part of this challenging project. He also wishes that he could participate in more projects like this in the future to build for the betterment of Hong Kong and the motherland.