The annual photographic spectacle of silvergrass blooming on Lantau Island’s Sunset Peak drew unprecedented crowds over the recent mid-November weekend, highlighting growing infrastructure strain and sparking environmental concerns across Hong Kong’s cherished natural landscapes. As the golden-hued foliage reached its peak allure, hikers—many believed to be mainland tourists—flocked to the high-altitude trails, resulting in extreme trail congestion, particularly observed on Saturday, November 8th, and Sunday, November 9th, 2025. This surge, widely documented on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, showcased the duality of Hong Kong’s hiking boom: mesmerizing natural beauty juxtaposed with significant crowd-management challenges.
The autumnal phenomenon transforms the hillsides of Sunset Peak, the city’s second-highest peak, into shimmering waves of golden-brown grass, a highly sought-after backdrop for photography. Reports and video clips circulating online captured streams of people traversing the ridges from daylight until well after sunset. After sustaining heavy foot traffic throughout the day, the descent presented a logistical nightmare, especially regarding public transportation.
Infrastructure Struggles Under Visitor Surge
On Sunday evening, a local resident’s video illustrated the immense bottleneck faced by departing hikers. The footage showed a massive, serpentine queue for public transit buses stretching far beyond the visible horizon along the roadside near the peak’s access point. Estimates placed the waiting line at well over one hundred people, underscoring the severity of the transport capacity deficit. While some observers suggested that the deployment of supplementary double-decker services eventually eased the backlog, the initial strain highlighted the lack of scalable infrastructure designed to handle peak seasonal demand.
Environmental Impact and Calls for Management
While the crowds were drawn by the spectacular scenery, high-density foot traffic generated immediate concern among conservation advocates and local users. Numerous posts on Xiaohongshu lamented the chaotic conditions and potential long-term damage to the delicate high-altitude ecosystem.
Key Concerns Voiced by Residents:
- Vegetation Damage: Complaints suggested that the sheer volume of passage caused trampling and degradation of the silvergrass fields and surrounding flora.
- Overwhelming Congestion: Hikers described the atmosphere as overwhelming, detracting from the intended wilderness experience.
- Environmental Degradation: Broader fears surfaced that repeated mass gatherings would lead to irreversible damage to the environment.
In response to the overcrowding, some social media commentators proposed stringent crowd-management strategies, including the temporary implementation of an admission fee for the peak during peak season. A notable suggestion was to exempt Hong Kong Identity Card holders from this fee, framing the measure as a way to control the rapidly increasing influx of day-tripping tourists drawn specifically by the social media frenzy.
Navigating Hong Kong’s Ecotourism Balance
The incident at Sunset Peak encapsulates the challenge facing Hong Kong authorities: balancing the promotion of its natural assets for ecotourism and the necessity of preserving these finite resources. While hiking contributes significantly to the city’s tourism appeal, especially among visitors seeking experiences outside the urban core, the current capacity for managing high-volume visitor flow in remote areas is clearly insufficient.
Moving forward, effective management strategies may require a multi-faceted approach, potentially involving timed entry slots, enhanced trail maintenance, and, crucially, a substantial increase in public transit during peak season weekends. The conservation debate fueled by this recent surge will likely prompt government bodies to review their management policies for highly popular natural landmarks, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the trails and environment for all visitors. Addressing the logistical shortcomings is paramount to maintaining the high quality of life and environmental integrity that defines Hong Kong.