Hikers flock to Hong Kong’s Po Pin Chau on first day of National Day ‘golden week’

More than 400 hikers visited one of Hong Kong’s best-known geological attractions on Thursday morning as some tourists chose outdoor activities on the first day of the National Day “golden week”.

Some visitors also arrived at Po Pin Chau – where the city’s first countryside real-name reservation system was introduced in late August to manage crowd sizes – ahead of their afternoon booking slots to try their luck.

Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Mickey Lai Kin-ming said about 440 visitors had entered the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo Trail in Sai Kung between 9am and 11am on Thursday.

He was at the site to observe the situation alongside lawmakers Perry Yiu Pak-leung, Vivian Kong Min-wai, Christine Fong Kwok-shan and Steven Ho Chun-yin.

Describing the situation at Po Pin Chau on Thursday as “generally smooth”, Yiu said the Legislative Council subcommittee on ecology and tourism would discuss the system with relevant government departments after the golden week, review the data and explore ways to improve it.

“We hope to give visitors a good experience, while at the same time balancing conservation, education and tourism,” he said.

Yiu added that he hoped the government could improve facilities at Pak Tam Chung as a transport and tourism hub so visitors would know what to expect and how to prepare before entering the Sai Kung Country Park.

Fong said she had observed that local transport operators had adjusted their capacity based on booking-system data to cater for more visitors at certain times, describing it as an “initial success”.

She said the next step was to collect data and consider whether visitors who failed to turn up should face consequences, such as cancellation rules, a deposit or a fee.

Fong added that 94 per cent of those who had made reservations were from mainland China.

Ho said facilities at Pak Tam Chung were very old and could meet only about 10 per cent of visitors’ needs.

“You could see there were few people [in the tourism centre], many displays were outdated and even the windows had turned yellow,” he said.

He added that a long-term plan was needed to manage visitor flows, including transport arrangements.

Officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and Hong Kong police were seen along the route and at the entrance, helping to guide visitors.

Shenzhen tourist Yu Jun, 30, arrived at Po Pin Chau with three friends at about 9.30am despite booking a 3pm slot.

“I booked the slot about four days in advance,” he said.

“We will be there for awhile to wait for the remaining slots [in the morning], but if we can’t make it, we will go to Long Ke Wan instead.”

Yu said they learned about the reservation system on RedNote and booked the 3pm slots through Klook’s app, adding the process was smooth.

They were eventually allowed in at about 10am.

Hong Youyong, 42, from Changsh is visiting the city with a 12-person tour group for three days.

He said it was his first time visiting Po Pin Chau and that booking a morning slot had been easy.

“I initially thought there would be many people during the National Day holiday, but it was smooth when I took the taxi here and not very crowded,” he said.

He added that the guidance provided along the way was effective.

Hong Kong is expected to welcome 1.29 million mainland Chinese visitors over the National Day “golden week” break, with Po Pin Chau emerging as a hotspot for hikers from across the border.

The AFCD said on Thursday that it would use drones equipped with broadcasting functions to conduct regular surveillance above the Po Pin Chau viewing platform and remind visitors not to cross the railings.

The department’s “Enjoy Hiking” platform, which shows real-time crowd levels, reported moderate visitor numbers at 10am, with between 200 and 499 people at the site.

The real-name reservation system at Po Pin Chau applies from 9am to 5pm on selected weekends and holiday periods, including the mainland’s National Day holiday, which runs from October 1 to 7.

A SCMP reporter checked on Thursday morning and found that the first six days of the holiday were fully booked, with slots available only for the final day.

Under the arrangement, a maximum of 2,000 people can enter the Po Pin Chau section each day, divided into four two-hour slots, each with a limit of 500 visitors.

Bookings are free and can be made through the travel platform Klook using visitors’ real names and identity document details.