Cheung Chau sees some 23,000 visitors during Easter weekend, causing many to grumble about packed ferries but others to rejoice over boom in business
STAFF REPORTER
UPDATED : Monday, 28 March, 2016, 8:47am
Tens of thousands of people visited the outlying island of Cheung Chau over the weekend. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Bubbling anger of Cheung Chau residents was spilling over the idyllic islet as it was submerged in a sea of visitors who, blessed with good weather, flocked there for an excursion during the long Easter weekend.
By 5pm Sunday, some 23,000 visitors – equal to the island’s entire population – had reportedly filled ferries and streamed onto Cheung Chau.
The 2.44 sq km island was so packed with visitors that outside certain snack shops, some visitors said they had to queue for at least half an hour to buy fish balls.
Various shopkeepers reported a 40 per cent boost in turnover over the weekend. One said: “Some people may think there are too many people. But business is business. I would like to see more visitors coming here.”
But complaints by islanders filled social media.
On a Facebook page named “Our Cheung Chau”, a Mini Ng lamented in a post: “Guess I can only get back Cheung Chau on March 30”. Some residents wrote they had “escaped” to Lantau. One visitor, Morris Chan, wrote: “It looks that I can save the trip to [Cheung Chau] to sweep grave”.
The long Easter holiday ran near the annual Ching Ming Festival, which falls this year a week after the four-day weekend on April 4. The festival marks a Chinese tradition of families sweeping the graves of their ancestors.
Long queues to Cheung Chau started developing outside pier number 5 in Central early Sunday morning. At one point, a queue measuring 100 metres long was reported.
The flood of holidaymakers forced First Ferry to boost the frequency of its services. Some 16 extra services were arranged between 9am and 5pm on Sunday to take passengers to Cheung Chau, while eight extra services were arranged to take people back to Central.
People Power lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip urged the ferry company to introduce a special pass for islanders so they could enjoy priority boarding.
Chan said he had received complaints from island residents over difficulties in returning home. “Ferries are the only form of transport for Cheung Chau residents to get back home,” he said. “It can’t be said to be unfair if they are given some special treatment.”
He noted similar scenes of overcrowdedness were seen at bus stops and ferry piers on Lantau, another outlying island. “The government likes to boast about developing tourism. But it seems our officials have failed to take into account capacity and supporting transportation,” said Chan.
Cheung Chau has been a popular destination for local and overseas travellers for years. TheTourism Board’s website highlights the island’s temples, seafood restaurants and beaches.
According to the 2011 census, it has a population of about over 23,000 people.
The central part of the island is lined with shops and low-rise houses. The alleys are so narrow that normal motorised traffic is impossible. Specially designed mini-fire engines, ambulances and police cars respond to emergencies.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1931222/natives-restless-hong-kong-outlying-island-visitors-equal
