HK Youth Bridges Cultures Through Creative Start-Up in Mainland

Venus Liu, a 20-something from Hong Kong, traded skyscrapers for the bustling streets of Zhongshan in Guangdong Province—and she’s on a mission to redefine how young people see life in the Chinese mainland. Through her innovative project Handle, Liu captures everything from morning market adventures to late-night street food runs, serving raw, unfiltered slices of daily life.

\"People think the mainland is just factories or ancient temples,\" Liu says. \"But there’s so much more—creative communities, tech hubs, and opportunities knocking everywhere.\" Her leap to Zhongshan was fueled by low startup costs and policies supporting Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao collaboration, part of China’s ambitious Greater Bay Area blueprint.

What’s next? Liu dreams of launching a resource platform to help more Hong Kong youth explore careers across the region. \"We’re not just ‘business neighbors’—we’re building bridges,\" she adds. Could her videos spark the next wave of cross-border innovation? Stay tuned!

Reference(s):

'River and I': HK youth hopes to show the real life of mainland

cgtn.com