Thea Tong Haoxiang came to Hong Kong from Shenyang in February 2023 with her young daughter for a long-awaited vacation; This was their first trip outside mainland China since the Covid-19 outbreak.

The city skyline from The Peak stunned him, but a scene outside the tram station in Central in the afternoon made him stop and stare.

“They were tall and looked smart in their uniforms. “In addition to their backpacks, everyone was carrying a bag of sports equipment,” recalls Tong, 42, who works in new media.

“The expressions on their faces and the way they talked radiated joy. Not just a few, but many.”

The sharp-looking young boys were from the nearby elite Catholic school, St Joseph’s College, and were on their way home.

Tong said her 14-year-old daughter, a junior secondary school student in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, wondered how children got out of school so early.