New Tours To Reveal HK's Treacherous Sides

Officials say they hope a new guided tour complete with augmented reality technology will help remind Hongkongers just how dangerous some of the city's slopes are, amid fears people are taking the risk of landslides too lightly.

Bookings are now being taken for the three-kilometre "Bowen Road Slope Study Trail" in Wan Chai, with participants promised an introduction to slope works and an insight into the government's various landslip prevention and mitigation measures.

The one-hour tours will be conducted in Cantonese.

The Civil Engineering and Development Department on Monday said it received 76 reports of landslides last year – a much lower number than the average recorded over the past three decades.

But that doesn't mean landslides are becoming rarer, and the public should not let their guard down, the department warned.

"In recent years there weren't any serious landslide or fatalities caused by the landslides. So it's natural that the public will feel that the slope safety problem has been fixed, and so the awareness has been dropping. This is worrying to us," said Sammy Cheung, deputy head of the department's geotechnical engineering office.

"I hope the public will stay vigilant, especially when the landslide warning is in operation or when the rainstorm warning is in force, that the public will stay away from the slopes."

Cheung said the authorities try to conduct checks on 280 natural and man-made slopes every year, but people still need to stay alert during the wet season.