Mandarin master: Chief Executive Donald Tsang joins students in a Putonghua class.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang today visited a school, a social service organisation, and a number of shops and old buildings in Wan Chai to see the district's latest developments.

Mr Tsang first visited Li Sing Tai Hang School in Wun Sha Street, which was transformed from a traditional school in 2003 to a school admitting non-Chinese speaking primary students.

He commended the school for improving ethnic minority students' Chinese language standard, saying that its efforts will help the students integrate into the local community and facilitate their further studies in mainstream schools.

Building revitalisation 

Mr Tsang then visited some old buildings on Yun Ping Road that have been redevloped while preserving their original outlook. He also toured knitting, snack and cookware shops.

As the rent of ground floor shops is high, many proprietors in Causeway Bay choose to operate on upper floors of old buildings. Mr Tsang looked around Percival Street to learn about the development of these upper-floor shops.

"Upper-floor shops have brought a new face to the district. The entrepreneurial spirit of the operators has not only enriched the vitality of the community, but also helped adapt old buildings to new uses," he said.

Employment training 

Mr Tsang then visited the Methodist Centre in Wan Chai and was briefed on the training course for post-natal mentors, which has been well received in recent years. Before ending his visit, he watched a massage class organised by the centre and chatted with participants.

He said the Employees Retraining Board has signed an agreement with Guangdong authorities to allow qualified health massage retrainees to attend the Mainland's skills assessment tests in Hong Kong to obtain occupational qualification.