Bulletin No. 1, 2013

Let’s Build a Bridge 19  students, Professor Ng took personal care of this one. ‘The location for the bridge was decided in November last year, and we only began designing in December. Time was short, so I took it upon myself to do it and finished within a month. It would have taken much longer if it had been left to the students,’ explained Professor Ng. Professor Ng is strict about discipline and punctuality. For this expedition, the team had to stay one night in the city of Tianshui before heading to Dangzheng Village the next morning. Ng, who’s known for not allowing tardy students into the classroom, warned the team members, ‘We’re setting off at 8:30 sharp tomorrow morning. We won’t wait for anyone. You’d have to find your way there yourself if you’re late.’ However he’s not as harsh as he sounds, as vouched for by his doctoral student Wan Li, ‘Professor Ng is a caring teacher who hopes to raise students’ interest in learning. But if you don’t finish what you promised to do, or if there were problems but you ignored them, he could be quite formidable.’ When not at work, Professor Ng treats his students as equals. At the construction site, he was not the type to yell out instructions from the sidelines. He would get his hands dirty like the rest of them, climbing up to drill holes, fasten screws, carrying steel beams. The idea for Wu Zhi Qiao began in 2005 when Professor Ng witnessed how villagers had trouble crossing a river in Gansu. Besides improving the lives of people residing in villages, another of the project’s aim is to improve the lives of the young. He said, ‘Not only Hong Kong students, but students from large cities like Shanghai and Beijing have no idea what hardship is. Each bridge-building project can change the thinking of 50 to 60 people.’ Sporting the hat he had been wearing since the first bridge in 2005, and with feet firmly planted on the soil of Dangzheng Village, Professor Ng said, ‘This is the real China. Students who have been to these places know how easy it is to render help and repay what we’ve been given.’