The showcase event at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai included demonstrations of table tennis, badminton, skateboarding and breakdancing, among others.
The audience was treated to an unexpected singing performance by gold medal-winning gymnasts Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan, while diving champion Long Daoyi did a short rap.
Earlier, the delegation of 65 athletes, who are on a three-day visit, split into four groups for sharing and exchange sessions at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin, St Paul’s College in Sai Ying Pun, the South China Athletic Association in Causeway Bay and the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy in Tseung Kwan O.
Members of the disciplined services and their affiliated youth groups met 22 mainland Olympians at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy, where athletes of 10 sports gave demonstrations and taught youngsters their winning moves.
Table tennis veteran Ma Long, world record-breaker swimmer Pan Zhanle and artistic swimming twins Wang Qianyi and Wang Liuyi put on unconventional shows.
Rather than using paddles, Ma and men’s table tennis singles champion Fan Zhendong played against youth representatives with a pot lid and a wok spatula.
Some Olympians shared tips on how they overcame gruelling training, intense competition stress and even looming injuries to achieve stellar performances.
Weightlifting champion Hou Zhihui said a refusal to bow to failure had motivated her, as she pushed through a tightly fought competition at the Paris Games.
Meanwhile at St Paul’s College, the athletes, including diving duo Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi, and table tennis player Chen Meng, arrived at around 9.20am for an experience-sharing session with pupils and left around noon.
While the press were not allowed to sit in, Quan was seen in a video on mainland social media platform Weibo telling the students that the 10 years she had been training had been “tough” and “tiring”.
“There are moments where I want to give up,” she said. “I thought to myself: I have already held out for this long, why not keep going? I must cheer myself on to perform better.”
A clip also showed Chen teaching Quan and another athlete to play table tennis, prompting cheers from the audience.
Form Four student Brian Yiu said he enjoyed hearing about how athletes coped with the competitions.
“Athletes tell us how they feel differently when they lead or lag behind,” he said. “This gives me an insight into their strong mindsets.”
After a lunch reception at the central government’s liaison office in Sai Wan, the delegation had some private time in the afternoon to visit The Peak and Victoria Harbour.
A 45-minute visit to The Peak mall ended with the athletes carrying bags of souvenirs, and Quan was among the most satisfied, holding a full bag of stuffed toys, her favourites.
Among fans on The Peak, Mack Ho, 12, said he started playing table tennis after watching Ma Long in the Tokyo Olympics, and brought his paddle and a pen, hoping to get an autograph from his idol.
The boy, who waited for at least three hours, said: “I am not disappointed as some of the athletes did look and wave to me.”
As a highlight, the delegation hopped onto one of the city’s famed green-and-white Star Ferry vessels at Wan Chai pier for a voyage of about 20 minutes to tourist district Tsim Sha Tsui.
Weightlifters Li Wenwen and Hou Zhihui were caught on camera as they had fun recreating a famous scene from the film Titanic where protagonist Jack holds on to Rose by her waist at the front of the ship.
Quan and skateboarder Cui Chenxi stared into the water, with Quan making a mock diving motion.
Additional reporting by Paul McNamara, Angeline Jiang, Leopold Chen and Vivian Au