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YOU DO NOT HAVE to be United States President George W. Bush or Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to receive the red-carpet treatment and an invite to a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Even an 18-year old from Hong Kong, like Frank Lee Wang-fai, can enjoy a VIP welcome, too.

Wang-fai, a sixth former at Wah YanCollege, who is also the outgoing chairman of the Hong Kong Union for Young Leaders, had the experience of a lifetime on a trip to Beijing during the summer holidays.

Wang-fai was among 1,700 teachers and students who had been invited to Beijing to meet a line-up of top mainland officials and drink a toast together at the Great Hall of the People.

He and fellow participants also had the privilege of singing for the audience.

'Beijing made a tremendous impression on me. I'm sure everybody has seen the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in pictures or on TV, but you won't feel the impact until you actually see it. It was so real and breathtaking,' Wang-fai says.

The sixth former was leading a 75-strong delegation from the Hong Kong Union For Young Leaders on a friendship exchange trip to Beijing and the ancient city of Xian under the auspices of the Chinese History and Culture Educational Foundation.

During their seven-day stay in Beijing and Xian, Wang-fai and his team embarked on a tour of the capital's magnificent attractions including not only the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall but also the Temple of Heaven, the Yuanmingyuan, the Museum of Chinese History, Chairman Mao Zedong's Mausoleum and the Qin Terra Cotta Army Museum, all in the company of mainland officials.

For Wang-fai, two highlights of the trip stood out.

'On the third day of our visit, we had the privilege of attending the flag-raising ceremony at the Monument to the People's Heroes at the centre of Tiananmen Square.

'We were invited to stand on the podium which is only open to top government officials like the premier and visiting foreign leaders. That was a unique experience,' he says.

The second unforgettable moment for Wang-fai was the state banquet at the Great Hall of the People during which he and fellow participants were invited to sing for the guests.

'We drank a toast in the presence of many top Beijing officials. What was most interesting was that the very place where we proposed a toast was where the late premier Zhou Enlai and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger toasted to each other's health 28 years ago,' says Wang-fai. 'This is something you might never have a chance to do in your entire life.'

On the fifth day, the delegation arrived in Xian, to be greeted with a grand welcoming ceremony at the Northern Gate featuring a marching parade of performers in ancient costumes. Former US president Bill Clinton was greeted with the same ceremony on his arrival in Xian on the first leg of his official visit to China in 1998.

'Xian was the capital of 13 ancient dynasties and dates back to as early as 300 BC. I think anyone who steps across the threshold of the Gate will begin to view everything in Xian through the prism of its glorious past,' says Wang-fai.

He took on the post of chairman of the Hong Kong Union for Young Leaders in September last year, shortly after being admitted to sixth form at Wah Yan College.

'It was a very challenging job and the experience I have gained will be of great use for years to come,' he says.



Sixth former experiences the grandeur and magnificence of the capital