More to come: Chief Executive Donald Tsang says the successful tour has opened the possibility of further trips.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang has hailed the successful Pearl River Delta tour made by Hong Kong's legislators, saying it has opened the possibility of further trips.

Returning to Hong Kong tonight after heading the tour, Mr Tsang said legislators were able to meet many officials and see for themselves developments in Guangdong. It was the first time all legislators were invited to join such an excursion, including 10 unable to visit the Mainland for more than a decade.

He said exchanges between legislators and Mainland officials were frank and candid, such as the meeting with Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang during which various issues, including economic and sensitive ones, were touched on. Mr Tsang called on legislators to build on this foundation and organise their own trips to meet more Mainland officials.

The two-day trip included visits to financial, industrial, infrastructural, educational and community facilities in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou and Zhongshan, and meetings with officials. Mr Tsang thanked the central, provincial and municipal governments for their hospitality.