Sands China Team Members and UM Students Tour ‘Big Health’ in Hengqin
Supports youth development and the integration of Macao and Hengqin
(Macao, Jul 23, 2025) – A group of 47 Sands China team members, University of Macau teachers and students went on the Sands China in the Greater Bay Area: Macao Hengqin Big Health Industry Study Tour together on June 27. The tour aimed to foster exchange and help future leaders explore the integration of tourism and the Big Health industry in Macao and Hengqin.
The participating team members are all enrolled in the Sands China Integrated Resort Leader Development Programme, which seeks to nurture the management and leadership skills of future leaders for local integrated resorts. The University of Macau students who joined them study Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at the university’s Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences.
The group visited various locations in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, including the GMTCM Park Exhibition Hall and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology and Creativity Museum, to gain an understanding of TCM brands that are currently stationed in Hengqin and the status of TCM production. At the museum, which officially opens on July 19, they learned about the evolution of TCM through interactive exhibits designed by the Oscar-winning creative services company, Wētā Workshop.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation Between Guangdong and Macau (GMTCM Park) has become an important platform for supporting Macao enterprises engaged in the TCM sector and other health and pharmaceutical sectors, especially growing enterprises. It is expected to develop into a new cluster of health and pharmaceutical sectors in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Dr. Wilfred Wong, executive vice chairman of Sands China Ltd., said: “After signing an MOU with GMTCM in May, Sands China is pleased to take action to help cultivate the next generation of industry leaders and professionals by organising this guided tour to Hengqin. The integration of the Big Health and tourism industries in Hengqin can serve as an important contributor to the ‘1+4’ moderate economic diversification of Macao. We are glad to help support local youth development in the Greater Bay Area with this tour, which helped familiarise team members and students at local universities with how the TCM industry has been modernised and industrialised in Hengqin. We hope this tour helps them understand the development blueprint for the integration of Hengqin and Macao – especially in Big Health tourism – and encourages them to explore the growing potential in this emerging industry as Macao integrates into national development.”
Carolina Oi Lam Ung, deputy director of Centre for Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences of University of Macau and assistant professor of the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences of the university said, “I would like to thank Sands China for arranging teachers and postgraduates from the University of Macau’s pharmaceutical management program to visit the latest landmark of Traditional Chinese Medicine industry in Hengqin, gaining an in-depth understanding of the latest developments in the Traditional Chinese Medicine industry in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. This trip not only allowed us to experience up close the strategic positioning of leisure enterprises in driving the coordinated development of the ‘1+4’ industries but also provided us with an important opportunity to observe and explore the development potential of the health industry. From the perspective of talent development, we hope to deepen mutual understanding between leisure enterprises and the Traditional Chinese Medicine industry, stimulate thinking collisions and innovative directions, work together to promote substantial progress in industry coordination, and inject new momentum into Macao’s diversified development.”
The MOU signed by Sands China and GMTCM in May aims to inject momentum into the industry by taking advantage of Macao’s positioning as a world centre of tourism and leisure. The goal is to promote regional collaboration to unleash the potential of Macao-Hengqin development. By fully utilising the strengths of each party’s hardware and software resources, the partnership seeks to foster exchange and help health brands in Macao and Hengqin go global and attract international and domestic investment to Macao – laying the foundation for collaboration between Big Health products and related MICE events.
Photo caption: A group of 47 Sands China team members, University of Macau teachers and students go on the ‘Sands China in the Greater Bay Area: Macao Hengqin Big Health Industry Study Tour’ together on June 27. The tour aimed at fostering exchange and helping future leaders explore the integration of tourism and the Big Health industry in Macao and Hengqin.
Photo caption: Team members, teachers and students visit various locations in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, including the GMTCM Park Exhibition Hall (top-left and bottom-right) and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology and Creativity Museum (top-right), to gain an understanding of TCM brands currently stationed in Hengqin and the status of TCM production.