More than 70 Hong Kong students and teachers on Friday started a national education study tour in Beijing, aimed at giving participants a better understanding of the country and to heighten their awareness of national security.

The government said the many of the participating students had made outstanding achievements in a territory-wide inter-school competition on national security.

The group is being led by Education Secretary Christine Choi, who said in a statement that she hopes that the experience will help students develop “correct national, historical, ethnic and cultural perspectives, foster their patriotic sentiments and increase their awareness of the responsibility to safeguard national security.”

She said besides the capital, the group will also visit Shanghai and Hangzhou, and will learn about the national political system, cultural innovation, as well as the country’s historical and cultural heritage.

Nong Rong, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, greeted the study tour in Beijing as an opening ceremony was held.

The government said Choi also met officials of the Ministry of Education and visited Beijing Normal University to exchange views on recent education developments. She’ll next head to Shaanxi, where she’ll lead a delegation of Chinese history teachers on a study tour to the city of Yan'an.