Isolated from the rest of Hong Kong for 60 years, part of a border zone will be opened to the public on Wednesday - but people who live there have mixed feelings.
While the removal of barriers is welcome as their freedom of movement is restricted - and landlords are especially excited about an expected influx of tourists and visitors - some fret about the loss of peace and quiet and idyllic scenery. Environmental damage can be seen at both ends of a 35-kilometre strip running south of the boundary with Shenzhen.
The restricted zone was established by the colonial government in 1951 amid political tension following the Communist Party seizing power on the mainland and British and Chinese soldiers fighting each other in the Korean war. The zone was intended as a bulwark against people fleeing the mainland. People have to apply for a permit to enter the zone.
The first phase of the opening up includes the Mai Po wetlands in the west and six villages in Sha Tau Kok in the east. Sha Tau Kok town and the famous Chung Ying Street - one side of the street is part of Hong Kong, the other side is part of Shenzhen - will remain closed for security reasons.
The middle section of the border zone will open up from 2014.
Alan Cheung Yuk-lun from Tong To Ping Tsuen, one of the villages opening up in Sha Tau Kok, has ambitious plans. Backed by a rural committee, he founded Sha Tau Kok Farm (Organic) two years ago to buy or rent land from villagers to set up a recreational site, which he says is a HK$100 million investment and covers 40 hectares - as big as the West Kowloon Cultural District.