Blind walks, gay bars and haunted houses: the rise of alternative Hong Kong tours
From raising awareness for the disabled and marginalised to nature and heritage sites, as well as spooky haunts, you can now see a lesser known side to the city
Whether it’s venturing into the city’s LGBT scene, or better understanding the challenges the visually impaired face in Hong Kong, a diverse array of non-traditional tours are available for tourists and locals alike.
The rise of such tours puts people in touch with lesser-known elements of the city.
“I think Hong Kong urgently needs this kind of alternative tourism,” Brian King, associate dean at Polytechnic University’s school of hotel and tourism management, said. “Such tours bring out the Hong Kong spirit and engage people with alternative perspectives and experiences that they otherwise would not know about.”
One group, Dialogue Experience, leads a tour called “Dialogue in the Dark”.
Aimed at “engaging people of differences to create social impact”, the tour involves visually impaired guides leading visitors through five unique settings around a deliberately constructed pitch-black exhibition arena.