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Culture shock can strike not only when Hongkongers travel to foreign lands but also when visitors from mainland China explore Hong Kong in ways that boggle the mind. A recent jolt came amid reports of mainland travellers sleeping at a 24-hour McDonald’s, rather than checking into a hotel (“Are cheap 68 yuan tours for mainland visitors to Hong Kong good for the economy?”, May 5).
Quirks notwithstanding, this new breed of traveller, whose creativity knows no bounds, can be savvier than us about exploring our city. Try typing “Hong Kong” into a RedNote search, and you will be struck by the sheer number of posts touting the city’s lesser-known sights with catchy names: for example, the Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong is known as “Hong Kong’s Vatican” and Ma Wan 1868, “Little Italy”.
The Covid-19 pandemic was probably a watershed in the history of travel. While once mainland tourists thronged luxury chains and splurged on high-end fashion items, now they seek out what this city has to offer in terms of heritage, festivals, temples and museums, beyond malls and restaurants.
Nature-wise, they enjoy the MacLehose, Lantau and other trails, as well as the High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung, although tourist overcrowding raises hackles among locals.
If we can be open-minded enough to find a silver lining in this, we stand to gain something valuable: a chance to rediscover the city’s allure, which often goes unnoticed and underappreciated. To paraphrase French novelist and literary critic Marcel Proust, real discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes.
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