Instagram tourists test patience of Hong Kongers at famous locations
For smartphone-wielding hordes of tourists, Hong Kong boasts a host of must-have Instagram locations — but crowds of snap-happy travelers are testing locals’ patience and transforming once-quaint pockets of the bustling metropolis.
Tony Hui recalls how elderly residents always used to play cards in a courtyard in the middle of the densely packed housing block where he owns a dry cleaning store.
The buildings in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay are one of the city’s best-known residential complexes, famed for tightly-knit apartments towering above three sides of a thin courtyard.
But in recent years, daily throngs of tourists have relegated the card players to a dark corner of the courtyard.
“You might say the elderly have made way for the photo takers’ convenience, to not get in their way,” Hui concedes.
While the building had long been a draw for street photographers and architecture enthusiasts, social media has helped turn it into a mass tourist attraction, fueled by it featuring as a location in a recent “Transformers” blockbuster and the remake of the Japanese manga classic “Ghost in the Shell.”
A sign warning against shooting photos and disturbing residents has done little to deter the chic travelers who usually form an orderly line to wait for a coveted spot in the middle of symmetrical blocks.
A high-end cafe opened in November to cater to this new market. Its sleek interiors and bright lighting is a stark contrast to the more humble-looking neighbourhood shops and the public housing towers above. Other Instagram hotspots have proven more chaotic.
A mural by local graffiti artist Alex Croft featuring rows of tenement houses draws a constant stream of tourists to the steeply sloping Graham Street in downtown