Pandas and Bun Festival among Hong Kong’s ‘golden week’ trends for mainland tourists
Many mainland visitors turn to social media platform RedNote for top recommendations of things to do over the holiday
Hong Kong businesses have made extensive efforts to entice mainland Chinese visitors during the five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday, but many tourists will opt to take recommendations from social media platform RedNote.
The government anticipates around 840,000 mainland visitors between Thursday and Monday, about 10 per cent more than last year during the same period, with the dining industry hopes for a 5 per cent increase in business compared to a typical weekend.
The Post scoured RedNote, often referred to as the “bible” for mainlanders regarding food, shopping and lifestyle, to identify some popular trends for this holiday.
Pandas
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park is home to the city’s six beloved pandas, including long-term residents Ying Ying and Le Le, and their twin cubs born last August, known as “Elder Sister” and “Younger Brother.”
Five-year-old An An and Ke Ke, gifts from Beijing, arrived last September and were introduced to the public in December.
They began their first mating season in the past week since their arrival.
The park is open daily from 10am to 7pm, although visitors should note that the “Giant Panda Adventure” area, which houses the twins and their parents, closes earlier at 3pm.
Special additional tickets are required to enter the area and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the “Mark’s Mine” ticket counter. Visitors will be given a designated entry time, and each person will have around three minutes to view the exhibit.