4,000 visitors expected for festival at once-abandoned Hong Kong Hakka village

Four thousand people are expected to visit a once-abandoned 300-year-old Hakka village near the Hong Kong border with mainland China for a festival this weekend and next, as the city taps countryside resources for tourist attractions.

Stephen Tang Man-bun, the head of the Countryside Conservation Office, which organised the event at Kuk Po village, said on Saturday he hoped to bring people a new experience that was different from their daily lives.

The Countryside Harvest Festival: Kuk Po “Sound-Sight-Taste Fusion” Tour opened to the public on Saturday and will run for two consecutive weekends. The event includes arts installations, workshops and performances.

“Based on our calculations, the four-day event will have about 4,000 participants, which means there will be 1,000 people a day,” Tang said.

“About half of the participants are members of the public who signed up for the event, the others are villagers who learned about the festival and are coming back specifically for it, as well as our different partnering organisations.”

Tang said the event combined elements of nature, beautiful scenery, history and local customs.

“We hope through this immersive experience, we can bring a new experience that is different to everyone’s daily life, no matter if they are tourists or residents.”