Six more China border villages to open to public in June
The six villages in the frontier closed area, which can currently be entered only with a permit, are Tak Yuet Lau, Liu Pok, Lutheran New Village, Ma Tso Lung, Lok Ma Chau and Ha Wan.
More villages near the border will be made accessible to the public come June as the government launches the second phase of a policy to open an area once sealed as a bulwark against the mainland.
The six villages in the frontier closed area, which can currently be entered only with a permit, are Tak Yuet Lau, Liu Pok, Lutheran New Village, Ma Tso Lung, Lok Ma Chau and Ha Wan.
The villages are sited on more than 710 hectares of land between the Lok Ma Chau border crossing and the Ng Tung River. The area will be fully opened on June 10.
From June 10, vehicles will be free to use the roads in the area to be excised in the second-stage reduction, but they will have to follow other traffic restrictions applicable to individual road sections
The first phase opened up more than 740 hectares in February last year, including the Mai Po wetlands and six villages in Sha Tau Kok.
But the divided Sha Tau Kok town - including the famed Chung Ying Street with one side in Hong Kong and the other in Shenzhen - will remain closed for security reasons.
The restricted zone was established by the colonial government in 1951 amid political tension after the Communist Party seized power on the mainland and British and Chinese soldiers fought each other in the Korean war.
The third phase of opening, covering the section between the Ng Tung River and Lin Ma Hang, is scheduled for 2015.
