Hong Kong filled its streets with national flags, community events and holiday offers on Thursday as residents and visitors gathered to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. District carnivals, free transport, discounted meals, cultural activities and an evening fireworks display turned National Day into a citywide celebration.
The October 1 holiday also opened the seven day National Day Golden Week on the Chinese mainland, bringing an expected surge in visitors to Hong Kong. Government estimates put the number of mainland visitor arrivals during the holiday at about 1.29 million, with the daily average expected to rise by more than 5 percent from last year's Golden Week.
Across the city, Chinese national flags and Hong Kong's regional flags decorated streets, shopping areas and public spaces. Posters and themed displays appeared in districts as businesses, cultural venues and transport operators joined the celebrations.
The scale of the holiday was visible from the morning. At Cultural Square in Sheung Wan, residents, visitors, community representatives and business and cultural figures gathered for a district carnival featuring performances, games and exhibitions.
Sheung Wan Carnival Brings Families Together
Ha Chung kin, executive chairman of the Central and Western District Celebrations Association and one of the carnival's co organizers, described the event as a celebration of the country's birthday and an opportunity for people in Hong Kong to participate in activities centred on the country and the city.
The carnival featured about 20 game booths. Organisers designed several activities with children in mind, including a space themed booth where young visitors could learn about astronauts and China's space technology programme.
Children could also put on astronaut suits and take photographs, turning the educational activity into a hands on experience.
Shan Cheng, the manager of the booth, said the activity drew inspiration from Hong Kong astronaut Lai Ka Ying, who has been serving aboard China's Shenzhou XXIII spacecraft since May.
Cheng said the organisers wanted young visitors to learn more about China's achievements in space technology while taking part in the National Day celebrations. The booth proved particularly popular with children throughout the morning.
The space activities also gave the carnival a local connection. Rather than presenting the country's space programme only through displays, organisers used games, costumes and workshops to introduce the subject to younger visitors.
Free Transport and Discounts Across the City
Transport operators and businesses also used the holiday to offer special deals.
The MTR distributed 77,000 digital single journey tickets as part of the National Day celebrations. Tram passengers could also travel free on all tram services during the day. The government had announced a wider package of offers covering transport, culture, leisure, dining and shopping.
Commercial cinemas across Hong Kong offered half price tickets, while selected leisure facilities and museums provided free admission. The Hong Kong Wetland Park was also included in the free admission arrangements.
Restaurants and merchants joined the holiday campaign as well. The original citywide programme included offers from more than 2,000 restaurants and merchants, while the celebrations reported by local districts featured thousands of participating businesses.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club also opened the public enclosures at Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses free of charge for National Day Raceday. At Sha Tin, the event combined horse racing with musical and cultural performances, including appearances by Chinese tenors and an acrobatic troupe from Hebei province.
The combination of transport offers, entertainment and food promotions gave residents several ways to spend the holiday without travelling far from their neighbourhoods.
Visitors Join the National Day Celebrations
The holiday atmosphere also attracted visitors from outside Hong Kong.
Satine Sha, who moved to Hong Kong from Beijing this year, took her eight year old son to Sheung Wan to experience their first National Day in the city.
Their plans included taking advantage of the free tram service and watching the fireworks over Victoria Harbour in the evening. They also planned to eat at restaurants offering National Day promotions.
Her son pointed out the significance of the 77 percent dining offers linked to the 77th anniversary.
For the family, the celebrations offered a chance to experience familiar National Day traditions in a new city while exploring some of Hong Kong's public spaces and transport network.
Photographer Yang Wenji travelled from Shenzhen to Hong Kong specifically to photograph the fireworks and spend two days in the city.
Yang said he had noticed the festive atmosphere surrounding both National Day and the Mid Autumn Festival and wanted to see it in person. He had also followed online coverage of the Mid Autumn Lantern Carnival at Victoria Park, which has been extended until October 7 because of strong public interest.
His visit reflects the way the holiday period has combined National Day activities with other seasonal attractions across Hong Kong.
Fireworks Draw Crowds to Victoria Harbour
The celebrations reached their biggest public spectacle after dark when fireworks lit up Victoria Harbour.
The National Day Fireworks Display began at 8pm and lasted about 23 minutes. More than 30,000 shells were fired during the display, which was organised by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.
The display consisted of eight sections, with themes ranging from national pride and family to aspirations and the future. Among the featured sequences was "Dreams in the Starry Galaxy", which used multicoloured fireworks and moving star effects to create an image of space.
Another section, "Love at Home", used red heart shapes and yellow stars.
The finale featured red and gold fireworks rising over the harbour. Hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors watched from both sides of Victoria Harbour, according to Hong Kong's Information Services Department.
The fireworks could be viewed from several locations, including Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Hung Hom. Police also introduced crowd management arrangements around the harbour to handle the large numbers of spectators.
Earlier in the day, Chief Executive John Lee and senior government officials attended the National Day flag raising ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai. The ceremony included the national anthem, a disciplined services fly past and a sea parade.
Holiday Crowds Extend Beyond the City Centre
National Day activities were not confined to the harbourfront or commercial districts.
Outdoor attractions across Hong Kong also prepared for heavier visitor traffic during Golden Week. The High Island Geo Trail's Po Pin Chau Section at the High Island Reservoir East Dam in Sai Kung introduced a reservation system and was fully booked from October 1 to 6.
Government departments warned that other popular outdoor destinations, including Sai Kung East Country Park, Sharp Island and Shui Hau on Lantau Island, could experience significant increases in visitor numbers.
Authorities introduced additional crowd management measures in Sai Kung, including extra police deployment around Pak Tam Chung, Man Yee Road and the East Dam area. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department also continued its online real name reservation arrangement for the Po Pin Chau section during the holiday.
The wider holiday period is expected to generate heavy movement through Hong Kong's boundary control points. Authorities estimate that around 7.44 million passengers, including residents and visitors, will pass through the city's sea, land and air control points between October 1 and October 7. About 6.31 million are expected to use land boundary control points.
With large crowds expected at transport hubs, tourist attractions, shopping areas and outdoor sites, government departments have increased staffing and coordinated transport and crowd management measures.
For residents and visitors, National Day offered a packed programme across the city, from a morning carnival in Sheung Wan to horse racing at Sha Tin and fireworks over Victoria Harbour. With millions of travellers moving through Hong Kong during Golden Week, the immediate focus now shifts to keeping those crowds moving safely while the city's holiday programme continues. Which National Day attraction would you choose to experience in Hong Kong?