Easter weekend fun: Hongkongers go shopping, hiking and enjoy alfresco dining amid good weather
- Enthusiasm precedes easing of social-distancing rules on April 21, with residents starved of leisure activities eager to take advantage of the four-day break
- Public pier at Ma Liu Shui packed with revellers, while others head to geoparks and lesser-known outdoor gems
Many Hongkongers went shopping at major retail centres or hiking in the countryside on Friday, while others enjoyed alfresco dining amid the pleasant weather at the start of the four-day Easter weekend.
The public pier at Ma Liu Shui was packed with revellers, some headed to geoparks such as Kat O and Tung Ping Chau in the north. Many people were also seen picnicking and hanging around the esplanade of the West Kowloon Cultural District art hub.
At 9am in Sai Kung, streams of passengers could be seen alighting from packed coaches and minibuses at the terminus.
At some taxi stands in the city, day trippers decked out in hiking gear and campers with their sleeping bags and backpacks formed queues – some spanning 100 metres – for cabs to take them to their scenic destinations.
Holidaymakers also favoured restaurants in Sai Kung, even though social-distancing curbs will not be eased until April 21.
Business had been bustling since 7am, said a manager from seaside restaurant Chuen Kee, who only gave his name as Chu.
The seafood eatery saw an uptick in revenue since the roll-out of a first batch of HK$5,000 digital consumption vouchers last Thursday. “Customers spent a bit more on seafood since they are paying with the vouchers,” Chu said.
Nearly all the tables were full when the Post visited the restaurant at 10am on Friday. This was a twofold increase from sluggish sales in early March at the height of the fifth wave of coronavirus infections, according to Chu.
Also in the same area, a couple in their sixties, who only wanted to be known as the Tangs, said they had driven from their home in Tai Po to the countryside for some morning dim sum and to walk their dog.
“The weather is great, but we were afraid of the pier getting too crowded later into the day, so we came earlier at 9am to eat,” Mrs Tang said.
Elsewhere, Daisy Hui, 29, said she would be spending her Good Friday hiking to a beach in the East Sai Kung Country Park for sunbathing. The beach is not gazetted under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and remains open to the public.
“I am triple vaccinated and hiking alone, so I will keep a safe distance from big groups,” said Hui, who works in the beauty industry. “We are trying to get around the restrictions and enjoy ourselves.”
Beaches and barbecue pits remain closed even though social-distancing rules will be eased from next Thursday in the first stage of a phased exit from tough control measures in place for months.
The relaxation will allow restaurants to resume dine-in services at night with four people per table, while cinemas, beauty parlours, gyms and public sports facilities will also resume operations.
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At Sai Kung Pier, a dozen operators of kaitos, or “street ships”, were seen offering short rides to a constant stream of visitors.
French businessman Laurent, who asked to be referred to by his first name, took one of the small motorised ferries to an ungazetted beach in the country park with his friends and their children.
The group consisted of three families, which exceeds the current social-distancing limit of two households, and packed beach mats, sandcastle toys and a cooler box for the trip.
“The beach was already crowded the previous time I visited. But we are vaccinated, so it’s safe,” the 37-year-old said.
A long line of customers was seen waiting to board a kaito to the Unesco-listed Yim Tin Tsai island. One boat operator, called Chan, said ferries were operating twice as frequently compared to the start of March.
“Business in Sai Kung all depends on the weather. Now that Covid cases have dropped, everyone is out here enjoying the sun,” he said.
In retail district Causeway Bay, throngs of shoppers took advantage of promotion deals to spend their consumption vouchers at major shopping centres.
Stores offering sporting goods, clothing and jewellery were among retailers that attracted large crowds. Many shops also offered discounts to customers who paid using the four e-payment platforms designated for e-vouchers, consisting of Octopus Cards, AlipayHK, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK.
AlipayHK is operated by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.
Hugo Wong, a 25-year-old advertising executive, said he paid a few hundred extra dollars on top of spending all of his HK$5,000 consumption voucher to buy a new wallet.
“It’s something that I’ve been eyeing for a long time and the vouchers came along at the right moment,” he said.
But tertiary student Christine Lee, 22, said she would hold back on spending her e-voucher as she wanted to wait for the second batch to purchase a new laptop.
The government is set to hand out the second batch of HK$5,000 e-vouchers from June.
