A jubliant celebration event was held at the Northern District of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (E-hub) on Feb. 3.
More than 200 young entrepreneurs and researchers from Shenzhen and Hong Kong, together with representatives of quality companies newly based at E-hub, welcomed the Lunar New Year by participating in traditional activities such as writing New Year strolls, making rubbings, and sharing a poon choi feast.
The festivities opened at E-hub’s central square and featured nine activity stations — including a wish tree, pitch-pot, and sugar painting — giving participants a hands-on taste of traditional culture and craftsmanship.
Luo Hao, chairman of Comma Tech, said: “Since we moved into E-hub last April, the entrepreneurial atmosphere here has been excellent. Many upstream and downstream companies have Hong Kong university backgrounds, so it’s easy to find partners and potential clients, and the office rent subsidies are very generous. After moving in, we secured a new round of financing from a listed company, which has been a huge boost.”
The highlight of the event was a shared poon choi banquet — a Cantonese celebratory dish of layered ingredients symbolizing abundance and reunion. While enjoying the traditional meal, attendees discussed their hopes for the New Year and felt a warm sense of home amid busy work lives.
Dennis Lau, chairman of Hong Kong Wing Nin Catering Development Co. Ltd., commented: “E-hub has changed a lot — it’s much brighter and busier this year. With several Hong Kong universities and projects coming online this year, our business here will step up to a new level.”
The Qianhai Hong Kong Youth short-term apartments at E-hub have a long-term occupancy rate of 100%. Hong Kong-funded businesses account for over 81.2% of E-hub’s commercial tenants, with well-known Hong Kong brands such as Wing Lai Yuen among the occupants. “Hong Kong style, Hong Kong flavors, Hong Kong services” are now within easy reach, helping Hong Kong and Macao youth feel both entrepreneurial security and a sense of home.
As a flagship Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation platform, E-hub has become a key base for research collaboration with Hong Kong and Macao universities; several have set up R&D centers there, including The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Macao University of Science and Technology.
To date, E-hub’s project-referral and park-exchange mechanism with Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport has enabled more than 60 projects to be implemented in both directions. E-hub has also delivered policy briefings and entrepreneurship roadshows to over 1,500 Hong Kong youths, and the Qianhai division of the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan attracted 906 participating companies.