Young journalists and guests at the Campus News Awards 2024 ceremony on Tuesday visited Zhuhai Aerospace Land -- the first national super-scale space center – saying they were amazed at the nation’s achievements in aerospace, aviation and national defense.

They were invited by China Daily –the organizer of the competition – to tour the aerospace museum in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, as part of activities for the 13th-edition Campus News Awards. The visit was aimed at enhancing their understanding of the nation’s achievements, and promoting cultural exchanges among youths from the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as Taiwan.

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Among the museum’s key attractions is a life-sized model of the landmark Tiangong space station, into which visitors could enter to get a taste of how the nation’s taikonauts live and work. Other interesting exhibits include models of the nation’s homegrown C919 passenger aircraft, the Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible, a series of Long March carrier rockets, as well as interactive exhibitions concerning space and astronomy.

Ng Lin-sing, permanent honorary president of the Chinese Photographic Association of Hong Kong, said he’s proud as a Chinese to witness the nation’s fast-growing achievements. “Only with the nation’s sophisticated development can we feel a sense of security.”

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As a member of the panel of judges for the “Best in News Photography” category for the Campus News Awards since it was launched in 2012, Ng said space exploration involves the nation’s comprehensive development, and space missions could not make any progress without it.

Yang Xiongbo, a second-year journalism student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, felt that space is very abstract and far away from daily life.

“It’s my first visit to such a space center like this with so many interactive installations. This visit has made me realize that space is a reality,” he said.

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Equally excited, Zheng Ruixi -- a freshman at Hong Kong Chu Hai College – said the visit to the space museum has enabled her to gain some basic knowledge about space. “Seeing the giant space station, I now have an idea of where and how our taikonauts live,” she said, describing the tour as “spectacular”.

This year’s Campus News Awards ceremony and exchange activities are being held from Sunday to Tuesday. More than 300 guests on Monday attended the event at the Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College in Zhuhai, at which 28 awards were presented to student journalists.

Guests and students also had an opportunity to appreciate traditional craft and technological innovation at renowned jewelry brand, Chow Tai Fook’s diamond processing and jewelry manufacturing hub in neighboring Shunde City.

Contact the writer at garychiu@chinadailyhk.com