Visitors will soon be able to follow the routes taken by Chinese scholars as they escaped from Japan-occupied Hong Kong to mainland China during the second world war as part of the government’s push to promote “red tourism” in the city.
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Among the 32 paragraphs Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu dedicated to developing culture, sports and tourism in his policy address on Wednesday was a pledge to “develop a variety of new tourist attractions”, including an initiative called “Chinese Cultural Celebrities Rescue”.
Red tourism refers to tourism products or themes significant to communism.
Following the Japanese occupation of the city on Christmas Day in 1941, locals launched a mission to evacuate prominent scholars and intellectuals, along with their families, to the mainland, eventually rescuing more than 800 individuals, including famous writers and poets such as Mao Dun and Liu Yazi.
A government source said on Wednesday the new tourism initiative would introduce the evacuation routes taken by the intellectuals, including via sea in Sai Kung and land in Tuen Mun into Shenzhen.
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A ceremony launching the routes will be held next month, and students will be the first to try the tour, which includes crossing the border.