(Photo : Photo of Pok Fu Lam Road Entrance (West Gate) of The University of Hong Kong)

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In the summer time, many students will look for the intern opportunities to gain more experience. It is a trend that more and more university students work as interns in Mainland China.

Ou Junxi is a sophomore of Hong Kong University, and it is his second time to work as an intern in Mainland China. He is still exciting about the previous internship in Shanghai. After several interviews and competitions, he was offered an intern opportunity by a Hong Kong real estate company and worked in the Shanghai branch of this company. During the time in Shanghai, he went to different places to do the market research with his supervisor. Although the position was not related to his major, he found himself learn a lot, such as how the real estate market works, and the culture in Mainland China. 

Feng Zhaotai has a similar experience like Ou. He majors in finance. He participated in the Hong Kong-Shanghai Finance Exchange Student project and completed the internship in Shanghai. They went to the Shanghai Financial Service Office, the financial regulatory institution, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, etc. After that, he worked as an intern in one of the companies. Feng and Zhang  Xiaoxin said it was such a great experience with lots of fun and practical knowledge. They said it was not enough to learn just financial skills, but still good to know more culture, working patent and social networking in Mainland China. With the development of the public transportation and infrastructure, it would be an option to work in Shanghai, according to their words.

The internship opportunities of Mainland China are in great demand. For each intern position, there are about six Hong Kong students to get it. What makes the internship opportunities so popular? A company working in this area and supporting the students points out that the business between Mainland China and Hong Kong is growing. Besides, great amounts of the giant international companies are landing in Mainland China. The students who have experience in Mainland China will have more advantages to get a job after they graduate.

Staying in Mainland China and working here permanently is another story. Although Hong Kong students express that they are willing to consider the permanent job in Mainland China, it is still just a few of them will really take the action. The factors are wide, including the salary, living environment and employment policies. They prefer to stay in Hong Kong.

In another hand, many companies are hiring Hong Kong students to work for them in Mainland China. The English privilege, professional and management skills, and international experience are the most important reasons that mainland companies consider when they hire the Hong Kong student, Chen Yanghui said. The initial salary may be a little lower than they can get in Hong Kong; however, the promotion space is huge and the salary rises higher than they expect. The Hong Kong government is planning to propose some new regulations and solutions to help their citizens to live and work in Mainland China.  It would be the challenge and chance for both the students from Hong Kong and Mainland China.