Mainlanders began flocking to Hong Kong on Friday as the five-day Labour Day Golden Week holiday kicked off.

Many of them visited the former Yau Ma Tei Police Station, saying they wanted to experience the historical landmark in person after having seen it used as a location in local films.

A woman surnamed Li, who is from Chengdu, said she was thrilled as she enjoys the dramatic fare that Hong Kong films conjure up on the silver screen.

“I have only been seen [the building] on screen and never come close to it," she said.

"But now that I’m here, it’s like all those scenes – those exciting, thrilling movies, the chase scenes with all the handsome police officers – are being replayed in my mind,” she said.

Another tourist said the former police station had been popular as a tourist spot among travellers online so she came to take photographs of the landmark fixture in Hong Kong's film history.

With some heading for some of the more popular tourist hotspots such as Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park, the slightly more intrepid went to Sai Kung’s Sharp Island for the unique natural scenery and rich coral outcrops of Unesco Global Geopark.

“I am from Shanghai and I like the outdoors a lot, but there is no such unique spot that encompasses the sea and mountain there, and it takes a few hours to drive to go somewhere distant, so I think it is quite convenient here,” a woman surnamed Shen said.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department staff will be deployed in strength to ensure that the 1,000 mainland visitors expected to head there on all five days of the holiday are on their best behaviour.

They will also implement various measures, such as distributing leaflets to boost environmental protection awareness as well as guiding kayakers and snorkellers in as well as out of the water in some instances.

A woman surnamed Wang from Shenyang told RTHK that the measures are useful, as not all people are aware of the right thing to do in certain circumstances.

She added that violators could be fined to ensure a deterrent effect.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden