How unlicensed mainland Chinese tour groups cash in on Hong Kong campsites

Unlicensed guide admits to regularly crossing border as tourist for illegal work, while another insists 30-person group ‘just friends’

Members of unlicensed hiking tours were among the hundreds of visitors who packed into Hong Kong’s Ham Tin Wan campsite on the second of mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” break.

The sink at the scenic Sai Kung hotspot’s only public bathroom was left clogged by food scraps after some visitors opted for hotpot, among other options.

On Saturday evening, a South China Morning Post reporter estimated there were about 500 tents at the campsite.

According to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the site is categorised as “large” – meaning it can hold more than 50 four-person tents. The department does not list an upper limit for the site’s capacity.

The SCMP reporter also observed large groups of hikers arriving at the beach by late afternoon, including members of an unlicensed tour group whose guides prepared dinner using ingredients brought across the border in Shenzhen.

Some members of the 30-person group said their guides had packed sausages, other raw meat, vegetables and even a watermelon for dessert.