‘Signs of improvement’, but calls still stand for mall and car park at checkpoint of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to ease Tung Chung crowds

Town beset by large tour groups, mostly from mainland China, since the bridge opened almost a month ago

Residents report situation easing this weekend, although inbound visitor numbers at checkpoint still similar to previous weeks

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Mainland Chinese tourists gather at the exit of the Hong Kong border checkpoint. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 3:10pm, 18 Nov 2018Updated: 10:17pm, 18 Nov 2018

There were signs of improvement on Sunday in the crowd chaos plaguing Tung Chung, a town near the Hong Kong checkpoint of a new cross-border bridge, but community groups and a lawmaker called for more facilities to control the tourist influx.

Tung Chung, a residential area close to the port facility of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, enjoyed a relatively peaceful weekend compared with last week when emotions boiled over amid local protests to reclaim the town from the flood of mainland visitors.

Wong Chun-yeung of local activist group Tung Chung Future said the number of tourists in the district had declined throughout this week and the area had become more orderly.

Passengers queue up for buses at Tung Chung. Photo: Winson Wong

“If the situation continues to be like this, then we will not launch another reclaim movement,” he said.

Since the bridge opened last month, tour groups, mostly from mainland China, descended on the area as tens of thousands of day-trippers came in by public bus for shopping, dining and sightseeing, angering local residents.