Screen shot from online video
Social media as well as Hong Kong mainstream media has reacted in horror when a video circulating online shows people dancing and singing around a bonfire on a Sai Kung beach at night. This follows the outrage after Sai Kung’s Ham Tin Wan beach was turned into a garbage dump on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The reports indicate that some mainland travel platforms offer camping tours to Sai Kung’s Ham Tin Wan, with at least one tour departing every weekend. While the tour descriptions don’t mention a bonfire party, some tour members have left reviews and uploaded numerous photos of the bonfire after their trips, raising concerns about safety.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department responded that the beach area of ​​Ham Tin Wan in Sai Kung is a designated camping site, where visitors may set up tents, make fires, or use fire. To ensure public safety, the department will deploy additional staff to patrol popular locations in country parks on holidays, reminding campers to be careful with fire when necessary, and closely monitoring the situation of inbound tour groups from mainland China. If necessary, the department will contact relevant regulatory agencies for follow-up.
Some netizens claimed it was a tour group organised by mainland China, and attached a screenshot of the tour group’s registration page. A search of social media by netizens revealed that this tour, named “The Most Beautiful Section Two of the MacLehose Trail,” focuses on camping in Sai Kung, hiking sections one and two of the MacLehose Trail, and visiting Po Pin Chau. The itinerary is two days and one night, departing from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Prices vary depending on the meeting point, with adults and children paying the same price. If departing from Hong Kong, the price is RMB270 (approximately HK$301.6); the prices in Shenzhen and Guangzhou are RMB320 and RMB410 respectively (approximately HK$357.5 and HK$458).
The camping tours are open for registration on Saturdays and public holidays, with 16 departure dates scheduled from now until the end of February this year, including the Chinese New Year Golden Week in mainland China.
According to the same source, although the itinerary did not explicitly mention a bonfire activity, many tour members shared numerous photos of the bonfire in their reviews, with some even praising the “wonderful evening bonfire party.” One tour member commented that the tour leader encouraged them to gather firewood to build a bonfire and reminded fellow travelers to bring plenty of wood and bags to collect items.
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