Latest news with #DicksonLee
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong welcomes 213,000 mainland tourists as ‘golden week' break starts
More than 213,000 mainland Chinese visitors flocked to Hong Kong on the first day of the Labour Day 'golden week' holiday on Thursday, looking forward to some hiking, treating their taste buds at street food stalls and restaurants, and enjoying a dazzling drone show in the night sky above Victoria Harbour. Advertisement Immigration Department data showed that 253,200 visitors had entered the city as of 9pm. That included 213,181 from the mainland, compared with 181,400 for the whole day last year, while more than 281,000 Hong Kong residents had departed for other destinations. In the afternoon, hundreds of early birds gathered at the Wan Chai temporary promenade hours ahead of a 12-minute Labour Day drone show at 8pm. The event featured 1,000 drones weaving through the skies above Victoria Harbour, forming shapes such as firecrackers, dancing qilin – mythical hoofed beasts – and traditional buns in a nod to the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. High Island Reservoir is another popular spot on the tourist trail. Photo: Dickson Lee Among the crowd was Zhang Hui, a business owner from Shenzhen, who had arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday for three days with her 17-year-old daughter.
South China Morning Post
19-04-2025
- South China Morning Post
What crowds? Hong Kong geopark hotspot quiet on Easter holiday after warnings
A popular area in Hong Kong's internationally recognised geopark has been attracting few visitors over the Easter holiday after social media users posted warnings about long waiting times for public transport. Advertisement The small crowds on Saturday afternoon at High Island Reservoir's East Dam in Sai Kung were in sharp contrast to the chaos of previous weekends, when visitors reportedly had to wait hours for taxis and minibuses. The site, which is part of the city's Unesco Global Geopark, has become a hotspot for mainland Chinese visitors after it was promoted on various social media platforms. But users of the mainland's popular RedNote platform recently posted warnings about visiting the area on weekends, showing images of hundreds of visitors queuing for minibuses on a Saturday last month. Some suggested waiting times could be as long as three hours, while others said taxi drivers charged additional fees. Lawmakers have previously called on the government to improve transport services and infrastructure at the East Dam. Photo Dickson Lee Only small groups of mainland visitors and locals made the trip out to the dam on Saturday afternoon. Several taxis and minibuses, the only transport to and from the area, waited nearby.
South China Morning Post
11-04-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to test flood scheme at 5 road sections hit by 2023 rainstorm chaos
Authorities will carry out real-time flood monitoring of five low-lying road sections hit by record-breaking rainfall in Hong Kong two years ago and temporarily close them if water levels reach 0.3 metres in the coming rainy season. Advertisement The government on Friday announced a HK$700,000 (US$89,745) pilot scheme to place warning signs, paint wading lines and install flood monitoring devices at low-lying sections of Chai Wan Road on Hong Kong Island, Lung Cheung Road, Tsui Ping Road and Chatham Road North in Kowloon, and Nam Wan Road in Tai Po. Under the plan, when the water level reaches the warning level – 0.1 metres from the lowest point of the road – the monitoring device will alert the relevant departments, which will send workers to inspect and clear drains. Generally, they will arrive within 15 to 30 minutes. When the water reaches the wading line, which will be painted in red to indicate a depth of 0.3 metres, authorities will close off the road section to prevent vehicles from entering the area. A 'once-in-500-years' rainstorm battered Hong Kong in September 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee A government spokesman said the threshold was set at 0.3 metres as car exhaust pipes and electric vehicle batteries were located at around that level. Advertisement 'If vehicles drive into water with a depth of 0.3 metres, there is a high possibility of damage. If the vehicle stalls and the water continues to rise under heavy rain, it will be worrying,' he said.
South China Morning Post
06-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sun Life sees Hong Kong as ‘most important' market for life insurers in Asia
Sun Life Financial plans to hire more agents and expand new sales channels in Hong Kong to capture a bigger slice of the wealth management and retirement markets in Asia, according to its regional chief. Advertisement 'We are partnering more with private banks in Hong Kong to address the overall financial planning needs of these customers,' said Manjit Singh, president of Sun Life Asia, in an interview. 'There is a big need to help the high-net-worth customers with intergenerational financial planning, inheritance or liquidity management.' The Canadian insurer expanded its pool of sales agents by 50 per cent to 3,000 last year in Hong Kong to prepare for a post-pandemic influx of mainland Chinese visitors. Its new insurance premiums rose 330 per cent between 2019 and 2024, lifting its ranking to fifth from 12th in terms of new policies in Hong Kong, according to industry data. Its client base and premiums from wealthy clients in Hong Kong grew eightfold in that period. Tourists from mainland China, seen here in Tsim Sha Tsui in March 2025, are the single biggest source of growth in policy sales for life insurers in Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee Sun Life has about C$1.5 trillion (US$1.05 trillion) of assets under management globally. It operates in eight markets in Asia including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, and is part of joint ventures in mainland China and India. The group has been doing business in Asia for 133 years, serving 30 million clients through 92,000 agents and 27 banking partners. Advertisement Mainland visitors to Hong Kong have been a big source of growth for global insurers, Singh said. Nearly 60 per cent of high-net-worth individuals in Greater China use insurance policies to transfer their wealth to the next generation, according to a Manulife and Deloitte survey in February.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Does your favourite Hong Kong attraction make it into Google's top 10?
The panoramic views of The Peak Tower, Tian Tan Buddha in Lantau and the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, have been ranked as Hong Kong's top-three attractions, according to Google Maps. Advertisement The list of the city's most-reviewed spots of all time, unveiled on Monday, also highlighted three famous spots in Central, including the cultural centre Tai Kwun, the nightlife district of Lan Kwai Fong and the Mid-Levels escalators, among the city's top 10 attractions for locals and tourists alike. The rest of the list included Sai Kung public pier which connects to Unesco Global Geopark, West Kowloon cultural district, the Mills in Tsuen Wan, and Repulse Bay beach. Among the 10 most photographed hiking trails, Dragon's Back, in the Shek O Country Park came out on top, followed by Pineapple Dam around Shing Mun Reservoir and Sweet Gum Woods in Tai Tong, to complete the top three. Dragon's Back, in the Shek O Country Park came out on top of the 10 most photographed hiking trails in Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee Other trails included Red Incense Burner Summit in North Point, Suicide Cliff in Kowloon, Sunset Peak, within the Lantau South Country Park, and Wilson Trail, a 78-kilometre long route through Hong Kong country parks.
