Rotary Club of Macau Shenzhen Study Tour Press Release :
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ms Li Ying, President of the Rotary Club of Macau
Email：liying.rcmacau@gmail.com
Mobile：+ (853) 6699 0525
The Rotary Club of Macau Visits Shenzhen with the Award-winning Students from the Carbon Neutrality Design Contest
Macao, April 9, 2023: On April 1 and 2, the Rotary Club of Macau, together with 13 university students from Macao, completed the “Together We Go Eco: Shenzhen Study Tour” in Shenzhen. The event is one of the follow-up activities to the “Together We Go Eco: Our Carbon Neutral City Design Contest” organized by the Rotary Club of Macau and supported by Sands China and Green Future. The delegation visited the Shenzhen Maozhou River Comprehensive Ecological Restoration Project and the Qingping Ancient Market Renovation and Repair Project, and visited the BYD headquarters in Pingshan District, Shenzhen.
A week before the tour, the Rotary Club of Macau held the “Our Carbon Neutral City Design Contest” for local university students at the Venetian Macao’s Adelson Advanced Education Center, aiming to raise awareness among Macao students on carbon neutrality, stimulate their creative thinking, and promote sustainable development toward the vision of a carbon-neutral city. The top three winning teams plus two honorary mentions were invited to participate in this two-day study tour in Shenzhen. Along with them were six members of the Rotary Club of Macau.
Li Ying, president of the Rotary Club of Macau, said: “Preserve Planet Earth and sustainability are main areas of focus for Rotary clubs around the world. This year’s Our Carbon Neutral City Design Contest and its follow-up activities aim at inspiring the creativity of young people in Macao, encouraging them to envision a carbon-neutral future for Macau, China and the world. We mobilized our resources and networks in Rotary and in our local community to not only showcase the creativity of young people to a larger audience, but also to provide opportunities for young people in Macao to learn, practice, and reflect on sustainability beyond Macau.”
On April 1, the delegation visited an educational exhibition center that demonstrates the 4km ecological restoration project on the Maozhou River in Shenzhen — the Maozhou River Hydrology Education Exhibition Hall and the Yanluo Wetland Park nearby. In the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, the tension between Shenzhen’s high-density development and heavy pollution has become sharply highlighted. Shenzhen’s large and small rivers have encountered water pollution problems to varying degrees. In 2016, the Maozhou River Basin Comprehensive Improvement Project was fully launched. With wide mobilization and the perseverance of all stakeholders, today the Maozhou River is clean and a sanctuary for fish and birds. The four members of the “BTU” team from Macau University of Science and Technology, who won third place during the Contest, felt deeply about this. Li Yueming, one of team member said: “The case of the treatment of heavily polluted river like the Maozhou River is closely related to our major, which is landscape design. It provides us with a mature and refined model of environmental governance. We have gained heartfelt understanding of the profound impact of environmental issues on people and society. We cherish this opportunity to study, think and protect the environment with our own actions.”
As for the Qingping Ancient Market that has a history of more than 200 years and is blessed with bustling riverbank scene not unlike the famous painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” (清明上河圖), the members of the delegation also had keen appreciation for its renovation and revitalization efforts. Xiao Chenxi, the leader of the champion team of the Contest, a Macau Polytechnic University team called “No Food Gets Wasted”, said: “The revitalization of the cultural relics of the Qingping Ancient Market has brought back the prosperity of the centuries-old ancient market. It is indeed a big boost to our cultural confidence.”
The most memorable experience for the members of the delegation was the visit to BYD’s Shenzhen headquarters on April 2. Xiao Chenxi from the “No Food Gets Wasted” team marveled: “We are amazed at the safety, low carbon emission features and excellent performance of Chinese domestically produced electric vehicles. China’s ‘intelligent manufacturing’ is leading the changes in daily life. The two-day tour has made us feel confident in the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and we look forward to the coordinated development of the Greater Bay Area.” The “UMCpay” team from the University of Macau is one of the two teams that won the honorary award in this competition. Li Yanchun, the team leader, expressed her feelings: “What impressed me most was the visit to BYD’s headquarters. This visit updated my understanding of traditional enterprises in China that usually rely on a large amount of capital flow and the right connections to win. It made me realize that China’s own unique entrepreneurship has gradually begun to take root in the innovative soil of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. As a student of economics, in my future studies, I will continuously pay attention to cutting-edge interdisciplinary fields such as new energy and new materials, and smart cities. I will also vigorously promote the realization of a low-carbon and environmentally friendly sustainable development in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the future.” The members of the delegation also test-drove two exclusively electric vehicles on the large square in front of BYD’s headquarters building.
Matthew Wong, immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Macau and chair of the community service committee, said the “Our Carbon Neutral City Design Contest” is the second edition to the “Together We Go Eco” community service project. In the same period last year, the first edition of the project focused on middle school students in Macao, aiming to promote the concept of upcycling locally while raising young people’s awareness of global environmental issues. “In the future, we will try other forms to carry out our ‘Together We Go Eco’ project. Green and low-carbon development requires the coordination and efforts of all levels of society. As an important part of the Greater Bay Area, Macao needs to abandon the parochial mindset, attending her own virtue in solitude, so to speak. Our youth should take the betterment of the entire world as their responsibility.”
Rotary Club of Macau and delegates outside the Maozhou River Hydrology Education Exhibition Hall, Baoan District, Shenzhen.
Rotary Club of Macau and delegates at the Qingping Ancient Market, Baoan District, Shenzhen.
Rotary Club of Macau and delegates visit BYD Headquarters, Pingshan District, Shenzhen. Courtesy photo by BYD.
About Our Organization:
The Rotary Club of Macau was established in 1947 and is the second eldest Club in District 3450. Our club maintains its multicultural vigor and comprises of professional and managerial members with a desire to serve the community.
For more information, please visit https://rcmacau.org/
