Hong Kong’s National Day perks draw locals, surprise tourists

Hongkongers have come out in droves to take advantage of widespread restaurant and transport perks on National Day, while visitors have said the offers are a happy surprise.

Businesses rolled out bargains and freebies to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which falls on October 1, ranging from restaurant discounts to free MTR rides.

Residents were seen taking the train and visiting restaurants covered under the promotion push to capitalise on the slashed prices on Thursday, though visitors were generally unaware of the deals.

At 10am, Tai Hing’s Tsim Sha Tsui branch was nearly completely packed with diners taking advantage of a 30 per cent discount on all dine-in bills throughout the day.

The deal extended to restaurant chains Men Wah Bing Teng and Asam Chicken Rice, which are also part of Tai Hing Group.

“I don’t usually come here. So, of course, I ordered the most expensive set at around HK$60,” a Tsim Sha Tsui resident surnamed Wong said.

“I also came on National Day last year for the discount. Having these discounts is great for Hong Kong’s economy.”

A semi-retired resident, who gave his surname as Chan, also came to the eatery for breakfast specifically for the 30 per cent discount.

“The bill went from HK$89 to HK$62. It’s a bargain,” the 60-year-old said.

Chan said the restaurant was more crowded than usual, noting he had to queue for 10 minutes for a seat at 9am. More than half the people in the queue were tourists, he added.

He also said he had no plans to visit Shenzhen during the National Day holiday, as he was worried it would be crowded over the border.

“It might be packed, and I’ll be in queues for a long time. I’m not sure if service quality might be affected too, making the trip an overall loss,” Chan said.

More than 3,800 restaurants are taking part in the drive, with most offering discounts of up to 30 per cent or special deals on selected menu items on National Day.

Hong Kong’s Immigration Department earlier forecast that the city would welcome about 1.29 million travellers from across the border during the mainland’s National Day “golden week” holiday, which runs from Thursday this week to next Wednesday.

Some tourists dining at Tai Hing said they were unaware of the discounts, and welcomed the reduced prices.

Jennifer Dong, who travelled to Hong Kong from Shanghai with her family, said she was pleasantly surprised to get 30 per cent off her bill.

The IT professional said she had already spent several thousand yuan in Hong Kong over the past three days.

FULL EVENT: Hong Kong flag-raising ceremony marks China’s National Day

The MTR Corporation also joined the promotion campaign, giving away 77,000 electronic single-journey rides in a lucky draw on its MTR Mobile app between 9am and 6pm.

The rides can be used for Airport Express, cross-boundary and intercity trips.

The Tsuen Wan line was already experiencing heavier traffic by 9.30am, with families, tourists and domestic workers among the crowds.

Sally Cheung, a beautician in her forties, was among the lucky few who won a free ride in the draw and took the chance to visit a friend in Mong Kok.

“I saw the discount on Facebook last night and got up early to join the draw, so I thought, why not head out to Mong Kok? I live in Yuen Long, and the Tuen Ma line fare is quite costly,” she said.

Cheung said the draw was better than nothing, but felt that the MTR Corp should have offered free rides to everyone.

The public also enjoyed free travel on all passenger tram routes and on several ferry routes operated by Star Ferry and Fortune Ferry.

At the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, many of the passengers were tourists who welcomed the free rides.

A Shanghai tourist surnamed Pei, who is in her twenties, said she had not known about the freebie in advance.

“We arrived, and the staff told us we could just get on board. They were really friendly, and the weather is great for enjoying the sea views,” said Pei, who planned to stay in the city for four days.

Passengers were also seen lining up in Central to board the trams, which were all packed with travellers.

Lew Liu, from Guangdong, also said he was unaware of the free rides until he arrived.

“It is good to ride for free,” he said. “The ‘ding-ding’ is a special part of Hong Kong and I was hoping to take a ride.”

Liu added that he would return to Shenzhen the same day, as he had other holiday plans.