Hikers urge live updates on free quota spots to fix Po Pin Chau booking confusion

Hikers flocking to a popular geological attraction in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung over the Mid-Autumn Festival weekend have called for real-time displays showing when time slots are available under a trial registration system.

A day after the large influx of visitors, the High Island Geo Trail’s Po Pin Chau section continued to draw lines of visitors on Saturday morning – the second day of an extended weekend in mainland China.

While hikers who pre-booked a slot under a newly introduced trial registration system were seen queuing at the entrance in the hot sun, others hoped to try their luck on site for walk-in slots.

Among them was Maria Chen, a mainland postgraduate student studying in Hong Kong, who said she had checked for reservations four days in advance, only to find them fully booked.

“The staff asked us to wait 10 minutes or more to see if any on-site slots would open up, but we do not know how long we have to wait, so we are going to head to Long Ke to continue our hike,” she said.