Students wait for their school to open in Sheung Shui, Hong Kong on Sept. 4. Many Chinese mainland students studying in Hong Kong attend schools in Sheung Shui due to its proximity to the border with Shenzhen. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Cross-border students take a train departing from Luohu district, Shenzhen to Hong Kong on Sept. 4. Some were born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents who were not Hong Kong permanent residents, dubbed as “anchor babies.” Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Melinda crosses from Luohu Port in Shenzhen to Hong Kong on Sept. 4. She has been commuting between the two cities for the past seven years. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Melinda practices clarinet at home in Shenzhen on Aug. 31. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Melinda can see the northern edge of Hong Kong’s New Territories from her home in Shenzhen. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted her travel to school for three years. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Fang Jie, 14, was born in Hong Kong and is currently studying in a public school in Shenzhen. The city implemented a policy that allowed children born to mainland parents in Hong Kong to apply for enrollment in local public schools in April 2017. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Students study in a classroom of Huake Education located within Guangzhou South China Normal University in Guangzhou, on Sept. 12. The training institution accommodates 1,000 full-time students, with at least 80% of them born in Hong Kong. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

A student rests in a classroom during lunch break. Huake Education’s full-time students are required to attend eight classes and participate in a three-hour evening self-study session each day. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Students hang out in the corridor during break time. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

Primary school students attend class at Guangzhou’s Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students on Sept. 12. The school opened in September 2021 and is the first on the mainland designed for children from Hong Kong and Macao. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

A newly enrolled high school student practices folding bedsheets. The school provides programs to prepare students for the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE). Students can use their DSE scores to apply for universities on the mainland. Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin

A student walks on the school’s playground during the lunch break. Affiliated School of JNU has over 900 students, 80% of them holding permanent residency in Hong Kong. Among those students, around 50% of them are “anchor babies.” Photo: Liang Yingfei, special contributor/Caixin