June 19^th – Arrive in Hong Kong, visit then night market after a break

We arrived at the airport without delay and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 12:00 pm local time on a flight departing at 9:10 am. We went to Hong Kong Central Station by airport railroad. We were hungry because we did not have lunch. We had a house famous for dim sum, and packed some dim sum. After arriving at the hotel by bus, we ate di sum and took a short break. Then, we visited the Mongkok Night Market in Tsim Sha Tsui. We have seen many things in an exotic atmosphere different from our country. We also bought some goods to bring as gifts, and had dinner at a restaurant in the night market. After having a delicious meal, we went to bed early to travel the next day.

June 20^th – Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Park, Harbor City Sightseeing

We visited Tsim Sha Tsui on the first day of our stay. Tsi Sha Tsui is Hong Kong’s largest street at the end of the Kowloon Peninsula, along with shopping centers including department stores and numerous restaurants and cafes. We went to a burger restaurant to experience the proper Chinese food for lunch. The taste was different from the shabu-shabu which is common in Korea.

About 10 minutes walk from Tsim Sha Tsui Station, we could find Harbor City, Hong Kong’s largest shopping mall. It was so wide that we could not look around in less time, so we divided it into two teams according to their own preferences.

We stopped at a franchise café in Korea and ate a drink. There were a lot of tea-related menus to suit the Chinese culture that the tea was familiar with. We visited Totoro shop and LUSH which are not in Korea, and purchased some goods for gifts. We also visited the Toysrus Shop to look at the toys and see that there are more things than the domestic toy stores.

The Hong Kong Space Museum is located on the seafront, overlooking Tsim Sha Tsui Street. It is a large dome-shpaed building, easily visible and easy to find. Here, we were able to see space-related exhibits such as rockets and satellites, ad to think about materials that could be used in space technology in the future.

Another team stopped at Kowloon Park called Oasis in the city center. Kowloon Park is a park in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, a downtown area. We saw the citizens and tourists relax in a quite atmosphere. We relaxed, taking pictures and taking a break from where we could see the city and greenery at a glance. With the park in the middle of the downtown area, we were able to see how the people of Hong Kong place importance on nature. Also, inside the park, we could see traces of the British military bases in the past.

June 21^st – Lan Kwai Feng, and night view

We went to famous Lan Kwai Feng to feel the youthfulness of Hong Kong. This place is similar to Hongdae street when compared to Korea, and it is well known as a very fashionable street in Hong Kong. At night, people start to get crowded with pubs, bars and live houses. It is always full of young people and it feels like a festival, and it attracts travelers from all over the world. In addition, during the Wolrd Cup, we were able to support our country and enjoy a true festival. We also went to the live house and rested our body tired of traveling with the excitement of the local band.

After visiting Lan Kwai Feng, we went to the beach near the Tsim Sha Tsui Space Museum where we visited the night before to see the night view. Here we could see the ‘Hong Kong Skyline’ of Hong Kong Island skyscrapers across the sea. It is one of the three most famous night scenes in the world. We were watching the night view at 9 pm, and saw ‘Symphony of Light’, which shoots a laser at the buildings. Looking at the night view, we shared a lot of conversations about school life, study, etc., along with the schedule for future visits.

June 22^nd – Visit Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

We visited the school directly to experience the environment of HKUST and to interact with school members. First, we visited the Material Analysis and Preparation Facility (MCPF), which is responsible for various sample analyzes. Our instructor showed us X-ray diffraction (XRD) equipment, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermal analysis equipment and briefly explained the principles. Since the facility also supports the analysis of biology-related departments, it has three NMR spectroscopes that are easy to analyze for proteins and polymers. The most impressive part of the facility was its own helium liquefaction unit. According to the professor in charge of the laboratory, the facility has excellent price competitiveness in research compared to other laboratories. One of the reasons for this is their own liquefied helium plant. She had emphasized that various studies have the advantage of being able to supply liquefied helium at low cost by freely using the plant when operating various devices including NMR. Finally, we could see real samples of porous rock. For non-metallic samples, it is important to note that delicate connections between the copper tape and the rock because they connect the substrate with materials such as copper tape for analysis that requires electrical conductivity. She also mentioned that samples should be well covered before and after the study to avoid exposure to outside air or water vapor. Apart from some of the analytical equipment for each department, it was responsible for analyzing samples from almost all departments in one facility.

We went to a restaurant in the school, leaving behind the exciting morning laboratory tour because there was not much history of the school, and the latest analysis equipment. Since HKUST is located in the mountains there are many facilities such as a restaurant where students can eat rice on the campus, a bar where they can have a drink, and a convenience store. At the restaurant, we met with the professors we had contacted in advance and thanked them. They also invited local and Korean Students from their school to eat together.

After a delicious lunch, we went on a CBE (Chemical and Biological Engineering) lab tour that was attended by professors who met us. The laboratory is responsible for the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) used to identify the components of the synthesized compounds of the synthesized compounds, and the gas chromatography (GC) that separates inorganic compounds that are thermally stable and volatile in organic chemistry from organic compounds. They have been studying life-related studies in the lab so they have covered a lot of organic compounds. Furthermore, there was a lot of equipment in the other laboratory, where they are able to study the mechanical properties of chemical engineering.

On the old schedule, the campus tour was the last time since CBE lab tours. But the planned campus tour was canceled due to heavy rain. So we went on additional lab tours for undergraduates. The lab we visited was where they studied pharmaceuticals. We have seen a fractionation device that uses different boiling points to separate various liquids, and a device that sprays chemicals to make drugs or make powders. Unlike the KAIST, there was a laboratory for only graduates, though there was no equipment required for highly advanced technology such as the laboratory used by undergraduates.

June 23^rd – Soho Street, Victoria Peak Tour

Soho Street is a street near Hong Kong Central City Station, famous for its pretty street scenery. We looked at Soho Street in earnest, eating delicious tomato noodles which seemed a little awkward combination that we did not see in Korea. The streets featured mainly mid-level escalators, and there were plenty of picturesque mural paintings on the streets, so it was good for taking pictures.

Victoria Peak is a mountain in western Hong Kong Island, the highest mountain in Hong Kong Island. The scenery in that place was very impressive and we visited it. When we climbed up, we went up by using a tram, but the course that was stunning at 45 degrees was great. We went to the observatory from Victoria Peak and took pictures, and the night view of Hong Kong from there looked different from we saw on the other side. The skyline of each building was spectacular, and it was a wonderful experience to see Hong Kong at once. When we came down, we took a bus instead of a tram, which was a good time to see Hnog Kong’s night view longer.