Tony Wong in Hengqin
A one-day fact-finding tour of Hengqin was organised for Macau media workers last week, where they visited three facilities covering education and youth startups, and representatives from the three facilities briefed the local journalists about their operations and latest developments.
The three facilities visited on Thursday last week comprised the Macao Youth Startup Community Living Room, the Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, and the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town First Phase.
The first facility was visited in the morning. After lunch, the media delegation visited the other two.
The tour, which the Post joined, aimed to enable Macau media workers to gain a better understanding of the latest achievements in Macau-Hengqin integrated development in the fields of education and youth startups.
The 106-square-kilometre island of Hengqin (“Horizontal Zither”) in Zhuhai City has been officially known as the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin following its inauguration in September 2021. The adjacent island is three times the size of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
The in-depth cooperation zone’s governance consists of a management committee and an executive committee.
The management committee is the zone’s top decision-making body, run under a dual-director system jointly led by the governor of Guangdong Province and the chief executive of the MSAR. The zone’s executive committee is the body tasked with the zone’s daily functioning and execution of tasks.
There are nine bureaux administered under the zone’s executive committee.
Last week’s media trip was jointly organised by the Macao Government Information Bureau (GCS), the zone’s Administration and Legal Bureau, and the Publicity, Culture and Sports Department of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the MSAR.
The zone’s executive committee was restructured in June this year, when the former Legal Affairs Bureau and the former Administrative Affairs Bureau were merged into the current Administration and Legal Bureau.
Community living room offers young startups ‘low-cost, low-threshold’ startup platform
During the visit to the Macao Youth Startup Community Living Room, Chinese Youth Advancement Association Executive President Xu Zhiwei briefed the journalists about the facility’s establishment and current operations.
The community living room is run by the Chinese Youth Advancement Association (Macao China) Guangdong Office. The facility is located in the podium of a residential estate in the northeastern area of Hengqin.
Macau’s Chinese Youth Advancement Association, which was established in 2005, set up its Guangdong office in July 2024.
The facility aims to help young people from Macau engage in business startups in Hengqin “without incurring cost”, providing comprehensive, full-cycle support services including mentoring, financing, and assistance with government administrative procedures.
Xu pointed out that young people engaging in business startups need to incur various types of operating costs while facing uncertainty about whether their business will become profitable. Consequently, his association set up the community living room aiming to provide them with a “low-cost, low-threshold” startup platform.
Xu noted that the first phase of the community living room opened in July last year, while the second phase came into service in July this year. The two phases together cover a gross floor area of 2,000 square metres.
The community living room accepts Macau entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 45. Those who have been accepted to settle in can use all its facilities free of charge 24/7, without having to pay any rent, electricity, water, or internet fees, Xu said.
The young entrepreneurs will have their own office space and can use various communal facilities, including living rooms and meeting rooms. Drinks, including coffee, are provided. The facility aims to provide young entrepreneurs with an environment “similar to a home living room” while they prepare for and pursue business startups, Xu said.
According to Xu, 42 startups have settled into the facility since its launch in July last year, 38 of which are still operating. The facility can accommodate up to 100 startups.
Hou Kong Hengqin school adopts IB education system
During the visit to the Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, Chan Hong, the affiliated school’s executive principal, gave the visiting media workers a briefing.
The school, located next to the Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) residential estate in Hengqin, is run by Macau’s Hou Kong Middle School. The campus for kindergarten and primary school education, which is connected to the MNN estate via a corridor, started operating in September 2024, while the campus for secondary school education, construction of which was completed early this year, started operating yesterday. Last week’s media tour covered both campuses.
The secondary school campus is connected to the kindergarten and primary school campus via a footbridge.
Chan, a former member of the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL), is also a vice-principal of Macau’s Hou Kong Middle School.
Chan noted that the Hengqin affiliated school accepts students who are Macau, Hong Kong, or Taiwan residents, as well as those holding foreign nationality.
Currently, she said, 99 percent of the students are Macau residents, while the remainder are the children of foreign teachers at the school.
Chan said that the Hengqin affiliated school adopts a student-centred philosophy. Its curriculum integrates school-based strengths with the IB international system, implementing enquiry-based learning from early childhood education onwards and highlighting strengths in languages, sport, and the arts. It has built a curriculum framework that complies with Macau’s educational framework while retaining school-based characteristics and aligning with international standards, Chan said.
According to Gemini, the International Baccalaureate (IB) fosters critical thinking and global understanding in students aged 3 to 19. Its enquiry-based curriculum connects academic subjects directly to real-world challenges. Ultimately, the system prepares well-rounded learners to thrive in an interconnected world.
The school has operated K1, K2, K3, P1, P2, and P3 classes since it opened. P4 classes were newly launched yesterday.
Following yesterday’s operational start, the secondary school will only run F1 classes during its first year.
Chan said that the entire Hengqin affiliated school has 970 students in total for the new 2026/27 academic year. The school can ultimately accommodate up to 2,300 students once all classes are launched.
Hengqin university town
During the visit to the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town First Phase, Macau Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Director Kong Chi Meng briefed the media delegation about the town.
The university town’s first phase, which started operating last month, consists of transitional teaching and research facilities in Hengqin used by three Macau public universities—namely the University of Macau (UM), the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM)—before the completion of their respective new campuses in Hengqin.
Dezhi Plaza (德智廣場) in Hengqin, a property development project consisting of about a dozen high-rise and low-rise buildings, was initially slated to operate as a “German City” commercial complex, but it has been converted into the university town’s first phase.
Kong noted that the university town’s first phase will only run postgraduate programmes, underlining that the second phase (UM’s new campus) and the third phase (the new campuses of MPU and UTM) will run both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Kong said that the town’s first phase is currently running 39 postgraduate programmes, with about 1,400 students enrolled.
The first phase can accommodate up to 2,000 students, Kong said, adding that the town’s three phases can accommodate 20,000 students in total.
Journalists enter the Macao Youth Startup Community Living Room in Hengqin during last Thursday’s tour. – Photos taken by Tony Wong
Xu Zhiwei briefs reporters in the community living room’s meeting room.
Media workers visit the secondary school of the Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School.
Chan Hong briefs journalists about an AI classroom in the school.
Reporters visit the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town First Phase.
Kong Chi Meng gives reporters a briefing at the university town.
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