A tourism project involving the use of augmented reality (AR) technology has been expanded to Lei Yue Mun, allowing people to learn more about the cultural and historical development of the area famous for its seafood.

Visitors can use a mobile app to scan AR markers at six locations along the harbourfront to see a panorama mixing photos from the past and drawings of what the surroundings looked like from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Narrative texts describe the changes to iconic landmarks, such the Tin Hau Temple, Sam Ka Tsuen and the past quarry zone.

The "City in Time" project was launched by the Tourism Commission in 2021, with the initial phase featuring popular tourist spots like Central, The Peak and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Project manager Yip Tsz-lam said the programme has now been extended to other communities rich in culture or history, such as Lei Yue Mun.

“Most people know Lei Yue Mun as a seafood paradise, but through our research, we discovered that there are many other interesting historical values in Lei Yue Mun, like the quarrying history, the Hakka culture and also the Tin Hau Temple,” she said.

“It’s not just about the panoramic artwork. Visitors can also gain in-depth understanding through the historical narratives and also the old photos.”

Yip said it took the research team half a year to gather about 300 old photos to recreate a realistic scene.

“There are not many old photos available from universities or any other sources. We rely on the descriptions from villagers and they also provided us with a lot of photos from their family albums,” she said.

“For example, we're very grateful that a restaurant owner provided us with a photo of him and his father in the 1970s. We provided that photo to the artist and the artist drew them.”

Yip added that the programme will later be expanded to Tai Hang and Kowloon City.