appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Ambrose Li

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents and visitors braved the heat on Saturday morning to visit a popular Sai Kung trail overlooking hexagonal rock columns, as a trial reservation system requiring real-name registration came into force, prompting some calls for easing restrictions.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced the arrangement last month, capping visitor numbers at 2,000 per designated day between 9am and 5pm for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo Trail.
The countryside reservation system is the city’s first. It was implemented in response to overtourism concerns, largely driven by mainland Chinese visitors.
While about 1,800 registrations were made for the full day, only 900 actually showed up via prior bookings or by registering on-site, the department said.
“We’ve also made use of drones to monitor the trail in real time and we’d be able to communicate with staff at the entrance swiftly. It’s a management model we’ve used for past golden weeks that we found effective,” said department director Mickey Lai Kin-ming.
He conceded that the one- to two-minute verification process on site could be sped up to under a minute.
Among the first visitors to Po Pin Chau under the registration system was Doreen Sun, a tourist from Beijing visiting the trail for the first time.
The education professional, in her thirties, said she had planned her four-day trip to Hong Kong specifically to hike and had visited Po Pin Chau with a friend after seeing recommendations on the mainland social media platform RedNote.
“There is a need for such a registration system,” she said. “The presence of many staff for verification here also guarantees safety.”

The department previously said the system was put in place to protect the narrow trail from excessive wear and tear, prevent overcrowding and improve the visitor experience, adding that the quota would be further reviewed.
No fees will be charged for bookings or penalties for failing to turn up – for now.
The roughly 1km-long (1,094-yard) trail is within the Unesco Global Geopark at Sai Kung East Country Park and passes giant hexagonal volcanic rock columns dramatically jutting out from the sea, providing a viewing platform overlooking them.
Hongkonger Moon Kok booked the 11am slot to take her mother, with whom she lives, and her aunt, who was visiting from Guangzhou, to Po Pin Chau for the first time.
“The booking system itself was not difficult, but it would be better if we could amend the booking before our visits, such as adding an extra person,” said the researcher, who is in her twenties.


She added that some family members had been unable to join them as a result.
Kok said the number of visitors on the trail was comfortable at its current level, but warned that any more would feel excessive and could create safety concerns, given the narrow and steep steps.
Her mother also suggested that authorities should indicate the difficulty of the hike so prospective visitors could assess whether it was suitable for them.
The reservation system applies to Saturdays and Sundays from September 5 to 20, the three-day weekend over the Mid-Autumn Festival starting on September 25, and October 1 to 7 – the mainland’s National Day “golden week” holiday.

Lawmaker Steven Ho Chun-yin said the coming golden week holiday would be an “examination” for the system, urging the department to prepare by making arrangements, including coordinating with public transport operators.
Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan, also a lawmaker, said the 25km/h (15.5mph) speed limit on the narrow roads leading up to the trail might require more publicity as she observed many vehicles driving at high speeds.
Greenpeace campaigner Ha Shun-kuen said that despite visitor numbers not reaching the government cap, he observed crowd jostling along the narrow trail.
“Today was only a normal weekend. I’m worried that the situation will be worse when it’s the October golden week. We know that the 2,000 ceiling was based on past data, but we focus more on the capacity of the ecosystem,” Ha said.
He also said that opening a viewing platform in 2024 worsened vegetation loss on Po Pin Chau, and the site’s popularity as a tourist spot directly exacerbated the problem on its ridge.
“To really make ecotourism a success, we cannot rely only on controlling crowds. We also need measures that actively restore the environment so it is protected, enabling the long-term development of ecotourism,” Ha said.
He added that the government had the right to close off certain sections of the trail seasonally to allow the ecosystem to recover, highlighting that some plant cover was entirely gone and that some tree roots had been exposed.
During previous golden week holiday periods, popular beaches were littered with rubbish, with reports of visitors at environmentally sensitive areas trampling on coral reefs while snorkelling and catching marine creatures.
The reports sparked controversy, prompting authorities to cordon off certain areas and experts to call for a comprehensive, top-down ecotourism policy led by a single designated authority to safeguard the environment.


For China’s hi-tech IPOs, it’s Hong Kong vs the mainland – but how much does it matter?

Hong Kong secures expanded equal treatment and investment guarantees across Asean

Housing prices surge near new Huanggang Port as buyers eye ‘dual-city’ lifestyle

Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan to give firms more long-term certainty: Paul Chan

Hong Kong economy

Visitors urge Hong Kong to ease restrictions as Sai Kung trail registration begins

Po Pin Chau is a popular tourist attraction because of its distinctive hexagonal rock columns. Photo: Dickson Lee

Doreen Sun, visiting from Beijing, says real-name reservations at Sai Kung’s Po Pin Chau trail are needed. Photo: Dickson Lee

Another visitor, surnamed Pan, who was visiting from Foshan in Guangdong province, was among those who braved the heat to visit the trail on the first day of a trial real-name reservation system. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hikers visit Sai Kung’s Po Pin Chau trail under a new real-name booking system capped at 2,000 people a day. Dickson Lee

Hong Kong launches real-name booking system for popular Sai Kung coastal trail

Visitors flock to East Dam and Po Pin Chau in Sai Kung on the first day of mainland China’s “golden week” Labour Day holiday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Lawmaker Chris Ip has welcomed the booking system, praising it for managing overcrowding at the site while safeguarding visitors. Photo: Eugene Lee

Quota set for visitors to popular Sai Kung coastal trail in first for Hong Kong

Visitors at the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo Trail during the Labour Day holiday this year. Photo: Dickson Lee

Mainland tourists queue to visit Po Pin Chau in May. Photo: Edmond So

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Hundreds visit Po Pin Chau trail on the first day of a real-name booking system, with some calling for less rigid rules and greater flexibility


Hundreds visit Po Pin Chau trail on the first day of a real-name booking system, with some calling for less rigid rules and greater flexibility.


Guangzhou

China

Klook

Visitors urge Hong Kong to ease restrictions as Sai Kung trail registration begins

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hundreds visit Po Pin Chau trail on the first day of a real-name booking system, with some calling for less rigid rules and greater flexibility

Hundreds visit Po Pin Chau trail on the first day of a real-name booking system, with some calling for less rigid rules and greater flexibility