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Thirty local elite athletes, led by Victor Hui, Chairman of the Elite Sports Committee and Head of Delegation, Wu King-cheong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association and Deputy Head of Delegation, and Chan Ah-king, Deputy Director of the Central Peoples Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong and Adviser to the Tour Group, finished a 5-day exchange tour to Nanjing and returned to Hong Kong last month.

Athletes including Ling Wan-ting and Siu Ching-man (Badminton), Ho Ka-lai and Lau Kwok-kin (Fencing), Lee Kin-wo (Football), Chan Mei-ling (Judo), Chan Ka-man (Karatedo) and Chan Lee (Tennis) all said they were benefited from the tour so much.

The Elite Athletes 2005 Nanjing Tour, held from 14-18 July, is organised by the Hong Kong Sports Institute with Hon Timothy Fok, President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, as Honorary Head of Delegation and Dr Eric Li, Chairman of the HKSI as Honorary Deputy Head of Delegation. Visits in Nanjing are arranged by Publicity, Culture and Sports Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR.

The tour aims at promoting cultural exchange between Hong Kong's elite athletes and sporting professionals in Mainland China, enhancing the knowledge of our elite athletes on the history, culture, sports system, development of sports and health policies of China, and the understanding of the preparation work of the 2005 National Games.

The delegation received warm greetings from Shao Xiping, Deputy Director, Resource Developing Department and Donation Office of the Organising Committee of 10th National Games, P.R.C., and Zhang Jieyun, Minister, Jiangsu Province Sports Bureau, The International Ministry and Director of the Guest Reception Department of the Organising Committee of 10th National Games, P.R.C., and visited various major stadiums of the 10th National Games in Wuxi City and Suzhou City.

During the tour, athletes also paid visits to the Nanjing Sports Institute, where the training squads receive education and sports training under one roof, and the Suzhou City Sports Centre, to gain an in-depth understanding of the region's sport development.