Mainland tourists head to the Wong Tai Sin Temple to pray for wishes

Tourists from the mainland were flooding the Wong Tai Sin Temple on Monday as visiting temples, offering incense and sharing photos online are new trends for the Chinese to relieve pressure.

Many tour groups have chosen to visit Wong Tai Sin Temple, where wishes are often heard and the tour guide occasionally explains to the visitors how to offer incense.

A mainland tourist surnamed Zhu said that although there were many temple-goers, he was fine with queuing before praying for his wishes.

Another tourist surnamed Wang said the waiting time and the arrangements of trips were quite reasonable.

According to the figures from the Immigration Department, about 197,000 tourists arrived in Hong Kong through various ports on National Day.

Some in the tourism industry had previously estimated that more than 1 million mainland tourists would visit Hong Kong during the Golden Week holidays.

Tips are shared online to teach visitors how to offer incense and other tributes, as well as the correct gestures and words to make a wish. 

Posts on Xiaohongshu instructing temple-goers to get souvenirs carrying "good meanings and blessings" are countless. Many visited the temple to ask for "tailored" blessings - for a job promotion or good scores - at the consecration centers.