Hong Kong runners and hikers hit out at the growing concreting of trails
Is it just ignorance on the part of officials or don’t they care, asks champion runner Stone Tsang, who hopes to engage the city government in dialogue about the issue and suggest alternatives
Across the lush green slopes of Tai Lam Country Park that defines the skyline of the western New Territories runs an ancient trail that was once the main access route between Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan. In the old days, villagers of Shap Pat Heung used to hike with their farm produce over the mountains to Tsuen Wan Market to trade for daily necessities.
The Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail, which is about 13km long, is now frequented by hikers, but these days it looks more like an urban pavement than a path carved out of nature. In recent years, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the government body that manages and maintains Hong Kong’s country parks, has gradually paved over the ancient trail with concrete.
READ MORE: Concreting of natural trail halted amid hikers’ uproar
It’s just one of the many examples of the increasing use of concrete to build or repair trails in the city’s country parks – a trend opposed by 90 per cent of Hongkongers, according to a recent online poll of 5,959 people.
![“[My survey] results show 90 per cent of people don’t like concrete hiking trails,” says Hong Kong trail runner Stone Tsang.](https://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/03/18/5dbe689a-ebef-11e5-9451-ef5010d885b7_486x.JPG?itok=g-nfmadJ "“[My survey] results show 90 per cent of people don’t like concrete hiking trails,” says Hong Kong trail runner Stone Tsang.")
In the week-long survey, which was initiated in early March by local trail-running star Stone Tsang Siu-keung, only 3 per cent of respondents agreed with the use of concrete in country parks.
Tsang had shared the link among friends and local outdoor groups on social media, and people voluntarily did the survey. Among the respondents, 77 per cent said they were regular hikers. Though the survey was hardly scientific, it is the first of its kind.