Have a peek at border town's new street

Visitors to Sha Tau Kok will be able to peak into the mainland at the newly built Chung Ying Street Garden after the restricted areas further open on New Year Day, as authorities will allow 1,000 tourists at most to visit the border town daily.

Only the Sha Tau Kok pier was reopened in the first stage of opening in June last year. Visitors were allowed travel to and from scenic locations such as Ap Chau and Lai Chi Wo. But they were not allowed to step foot on other parts of the community.

The second phase of opening Sha Tau Kok's border area will begin on January 1. Tourists can visit all parts of Sha Tau Kok except Chung Ying Street - which divides Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Of the 1,000 daily tourist quota, 700 will be part of escorted tours and 300 will be open to independent travelers. To enter the closed area, visitors must obtain a free electronic Tourism Closed Area permit.

With Chung Ying Street still out of bounds, the Chung Ying Street Garden - located in front of the Chung Ying Street checkpoint - will provide an observation deck for a full view of the border street.

Assistant director (projects) at Security Bureau Shylock Wong Yiu-ming said the site would serve as a good tourist attraction with its beautiful scenery.

"Visitors may hang wishing plaques sold at the souvenir shop on dedicated railings to make wishes," Wong said.

To celebrate the second stage of opening up the restricted area, Hongkong Post released a set of six postcards featuring scenery of Sha Tau Kok, and it will be on sale on January 1 - the same day in which Sha Tau Kok post office will open.

In the first stage of reopening, the town attracted over 33,000 visitors.

Running a restaurant in the area for over 20 years, a shop owner surnamed Wong said residents had been very worried about security concerns as more outsiders come in.

But Wong still welcomed tourists to revive the site, and hoped the second stage of reopening could bring in at least a 10 percent boost to her business.

"We hope the police can increase patrol frequencies to reduce our concerns," she added.