The talk was one of the sessions that took place on three campuses across the city, with members of the delegation meeting more than 1,000 pupils from 20 primary and 21 secondary schools.

The four-day visit, led by China Manned Space Agency deputy director General Lin Xiqiang, is the first by Chinese astronauts since 2012, when crew members from the Shenzhou-9 mission toured the city.

Others in the delegation included astronauts Liu Boming, Wang Yaping and Zhang Lu, who took part in the Shenzhou-12, 13 and 15 missions, respectively.

Chen Man-lin was the only local pupil selected to receive a reply from the astronauts in the campaign. In his reply, Chen Dong, who was involved in the Shenzhou-11 and 14 missions, wrote about his gruelling journey to become an astronaut and encouraged the student to keep pursuing her interest in aerospace.

The pupil said that given their last interaction had taken place at more than “400km [249 miles] between the ground and the sky”, meeting him face to face was “incredibly exciting”.

She also received a signed photograph from the astronaut, which she said she would treasure forever.

It was not the first time for the school to receive members of China’s space programme. Yang Liwei, the country’s first astronaut in space, visited the school and planted an oak tree on its grounds in 2003.

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Principal Ng Wun-kit said the school was very honoured to again welcome guests from the programme, and believed it had been selected because of its long-standing emphasis on national education.

“Astronauts contribute so much to our country, so when Yang came to our school, it symbolised him planting a seed from space in Pui Kiu and also in Hong Kong,” he said, describing the visit as highly meaningful.

Yalena Chen Ying-lam, 15, who was among the pupils chosen to welcome the delegation, said Chen Dong was down to earth and unlike her stereotypical idea of an astronaut.

“He is a very cool person,” she said. “He doesn’t act the way we think astronauts are, like very scientific and logical. Perhaps this is the only chance I get to meet someone this famous face to face.”

She previously took part in a live lecture broadcast from the Tiangong space station by astronauts on the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, which she credited with helping her realise that physics was “not that boring”.

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She said she was uncertain whether she wanted to become an astronaut herself, but the group’s visit helped open her eyes to other possibilities. “Each small step contributes to the larger one, so even if we do not go to space we can still play a role, like being engineers or designers,” she said.

Addressing a session at another school, Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li Mei-sheung said the government had introduced space science in primary schools as part of its drive to promote STEAM – science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics – education.

The move was part of authorities’ broader strategy of “invigorating the country through science and education” and nurturing young talent in the sciences, she said.

In the evening, the astronauts attended a variety show at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom. The Home Affairs Department gave out about 5,000 tickets to the public on a first-come, first-served basis starting on Tuesday.

China Manned Space Agency deputy director Lin Xiqiang, the head of the delegation, said the search for the country’s fourth batch of astronauts began last year and had now entered its final round of selections, among which candidates from the city were still in the running.

“I look forward to having astronauts from Hong Kong enter the country’s space station,” he said, adding he was sure they could carry out unique scientific experiments with Hong Kong characteristics.

Authorities said all tickets for the event were sold out by Tuesday night due to the “enthusiastic response” of Hongkongers, and warned they were not meant to be sold after it found some people offering them online.

Government officials, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, attended the show, where hundreds of students as well as other members of the public held flashing LED stars in their hands.

They were treated to song and dance performances by popular Cantopop group Grasshopper, Chinese pianist “Niu Niu” Zhang Shengliang and up-and-coming pop singer Gigi Yim Ming-hay.

Two attendees, Open and Disney Leung, both in their sixties, said they happened to walk by a Home Affairs Enquiry Centre, where the tickets were being distributed on Tuesday, and decided to grab some.

“We don’t understand Mandarin very well, but we wanted to come and witness and celebrate 30 years of space development by the country,” Open said.

Added Disney: “Continue to follow your dreams. We’re too old, but we hope the students here can be inspired from today.”

Form One student Marcus Lau from Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School was at the show with a group of classmates.

“I think they have made great contributions to the country, and see them as examples to learn from,” he said.

The delegation also visited the central government’s liaison office in the city and met its director, Zheng Yanxiong.

Zheng said the country’s aerospace endeavours had provided a larger stage for Hongkongers to showcase their talent, making their space dreams within reach.

On the selection of payload specialists, Zheng said he believed that Hongkongers would have the opportunity to explore space together with their mainland counterparts in the near future.

Beijing announced in October last year that it was recruiting two payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau, marking the first time the space agency was accepting candidates from the two cities for the positions.