Students listen to the lecture given by the top mainland architectural engineers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Oct 28, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Monday, the "Spirit of the Times in Hong Kong" exhibition was held in Hong Kong. In the following week, a number of Building and engineering professionals, including chief engineers from China State Construction, will visit the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Chinese University of Hong Kong to give a lecture on Chinese architecture, telling Hong Kong university students about the development achievements of Chinese architecture.

Talks given by top mainland architectural engineers to Hong Kong university students over the past four days have boosted their appreciation of the country's construction prowess as well as the nation's backing for the city in times of need.

Since Monday, members of the delegation of experts have met with students at four universities in the special administrative region, with each talk featuring a different theme, such as advanced technologies used in major architectural projects.

On Tuesday, Zhang Yi, an expert on hospital construction, told students at Hong Kong Polytechnic University of the innovative practices used in the construction of two medical facilities by the Chinese mainland to help the city ride out the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the projects was built as a temporary facility and now serves as a permanent hospital. The North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre was completed in four months, despite the city being hit by the outbreak.

Zang Xingyu, a 25-year-old doctorate student in building environment and energy engineering, marveled at the feat of building a major medical facility with 816 isolation beds and a lab to handle 1,500 virus tests per day.

The use of new technologies in the construction of the infection control center and the COVID-19 community treatment facility at the AsiaWorld-Expo building, demonstrated the efficiency and high quality of China's construction projects, Zang said.

He said for an aspiring engineer these projects and the nation's prowess in construction engineering had increased his confidence in his career development.

The control center was built by China State Construction International Holdings with the assistance of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong governments.

It is the world's first hospital with negative pressure isolation wards built using prefabricated modules, which were transported to the construction site for installation.

Inspired by the talk, Zang said he would pay attention to new construction technologies as the industry undergoes an industrial transformation.

A talk given by Zhang Kun, chief expert of China State Construction Engineering Corp and chief engineer of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Corp, at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Wednesday also inspired students.

Wu Hao, a 24-year-old doctoral student in artificial intelligence, said he was in awe of the "Chinese speed" in the construction of quality medical facilities.

Zhao Yuanchao, chief architect of the China Northwest Architectural Design and Research Institute delivers a lecture on Thursday at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. This was the last lecture given by a delegation of mainland engineering experts at universities in Hong Kong. [Photo/Xinhua]

High efficiency

Wu watched online how the Huoshenshan Hospital and Leishenshan Hospital－two makeshift facilities in Wuhan, Hubei province, were built about 10 days to treat COVID-19 patients. Zhang participated in the building of both hospitals.

"The lecture has also broadened my future career scope," said Wu, adding that the new technologies raised in the lecture, such as the 5G-based remote control technology, helped him realize his professional skills could be used in the construction industry.

Wang Binwei, a 22-year-old Hong Kong University postgraduate student in construction project management, was also encouraged after a talk by leading architectural engineering expert Xiao Xuwen on Monday. Xiao introduced the nation's major construction projects and spoke about the development of China's construction industry.

"Now I am more encouraged to better equip myself so that someday I can also participate in some of the nation's top construction projects," Wang said.

Xu Chaoyu, a 20-year-old sophomore doing urban studies at Chinese University of Hong Kong said she has made up her mind to pursue a career in architecture after attending a talk given by Zhao Yuanchao, chief architect of the China Northwest Architectural Design and Research Institute.

Zhao spoke on the relationships between architecture and the natural environment, citing the example of the urban design of two cities of Shaanxi province.

(With inputs from China Daily)