The 3rd “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival” launches with an online kick-off ceremony for the first time

Dr. Li Feng, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee and Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong, delivered the welcome speech at the event.

Dr. Y.K. Pang, GBS, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Tourism Board, delivered the a speech at the event.

Dr. Li Feng, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee and Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong (Right) and Dr. Y.K. Pang, GBS, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Tourism Board (Left) hosted the online kick-off ceremony of the 3^rd “CMHK Hiking Festival”.

【Hong Kong – December 20, 2020】 The 3^rd “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival”, co-organized by China Mobile Hong Kong and Hong Kong Hiking Association, China, has officially launched today. Riding high on the inaugural successes of the last two years, the event returns this year under the theme “5G by your side”, incorporating 5G technology into hiking, increasing the hiking fun, to encourage the public to “Walk for health” and embrace the diverse benefits of hiking. This year, as a result of the pandemic, utilizing CMHK’s industry-leading 5G technology, the kick-off ceremony was held online for the first time, simulcast the ceremony on UTV and MyLink apps, so that public participants could jointly celebrate the kick-off ceremony together.

Honoured guests were invited to jointly host the kick-off ceremony for this year, including Dr. Y.K. Pang, GBS, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Regina Leung Tong Ching-yee, Ms. Jenny Yeung, Commercial Director, MTR Corporation Limited, Dr. Ko Wing Man GBS JP, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee, Dr. Stanley Ma BBS, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee and Chairman of Hong Kong Hiking Association, Mr. Zhang Xialing, Vice-chairman & President of The Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, Mrs. Pearl Lee, Chief Commissioner of The Hong Kong Girl Guides Association, the supporting organization, Colonel Matthew Wong, ED, Commandant of Hong Kong Adventure Corps, Dr. Li Feng, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee and Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong, and Mr. Sean Lee, Director and CEO of China Mobile Hong Kong.

Dr. Li Feng, Co-Chairman of the organizing committee and Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited, said at the ceremony, “2020 has been a challenging year, with the pandemic having a broad impact across all industries and implications for the economy globally.  The public has had to become accustomed to living with the virus with a degree of ongoing trepidation and pandemic fatigue, the pandemic has changed our lifestyles and accelerated the move from offline to online, and from outbound travel to domestic travel and local activities. Therefore, the 3^rd CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival has strengthened the integration of online-offline deployment and interaction to encourage people to continue the development of good hiking habits during the pandemic, whilst taking advantage of available technologies which we hope will make life more pleasurable under these trying circumstances.”

Dr. Li Feng believes that Hong Kong has a unique advantage in terms of its abundance of natural resources, and hiking trails, in particular, are relatively accessible from bustling urban areas. During the pandemic, the public has been able to visit and explore scenic hiking trails in groups of two, effectively exercise the body and stress relief all at the same time, thusly helping to maintain both physical and mental wellness as everyone plays their part in fighting against the virus. With considerations duly paid to conditions of safety and observance of all pandemic prevention measures, he encouraged everyone to continue to “Walk for Health”.

Dr. Li Feng continued, “During the pandemic, Hong Kong’s tourism industry is facing a severe predicament. In the first half of 2020, the number of international visitors to Hong Kong has dropped by nearly 90%, and the number of Mainland visitors has fallen by more than 90%. Since Hong Kong has such a unique advantage in terms of its offering of natural resources, we hope to transform the 24 country parks and hiking trails in Hong Kong into becoming the “Name Card of Hong Kong” by virtue of the Festival, hence promoting the city’s status to all parts of the world. By creating a new tourist hotspot in Hong Kong, it is possible to attract tourists for hiking activities after the pandemic, with the revitalization of the Hong Kong tourism industry as an ultimate goal.”

Dr Y.K. Pang, GBS, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Tourism Board, was invited to join the event as an honoured guest in the kick-off ceremony. In his opening speech, he pointed out that the abundant and diversified natural resources in Hong Kong contribute to the high popularity of ‘green destination’ tourist attractions, and so Hong Kong Tourism Board, therefore, has promoted Green Tourism energetically in recent years. With the theme of “Great Outdoors Hong Kong”, a series of 360-degree virtual reality videos have been launched, leading global audiences to explore the landscape of Hong Kong through videos and the Internet – and promoting the unique proposition of Hong Kong as an outdoor leisure attraction.

With the kick-off ceremony of the 3^rd “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival”, the festival has officially launched this year. Starting from January 2021, the “5G by your side – WeWalk for Rewards” event will be held to encourage the public to choose suitable hiking routes as they enjoy the varied scenery of Hong Kong, as well as maintaining the best possible physical and mental health whilst exploring outdoors.

The “5G by your side – WeWalk for Rewards” event will be held from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021 and will run for three months. CMHK is integrating 5G MR technology into the hike for the first time, bringing a brand-new and fun hiking experience to the public. During the event, participants who complete both “5G Rewards” missions the soonest within the monthly campaign period, including completion of the designated hiking route, and check-in at designated “WeWalk Spots” plus accumulating 200,000 total steps, will have a chance to win the latest iPhone 12 series (3 winners) or Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G (3 winners). Prizes also include “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival” limited-edition first day hiking covers (300 winners), and 5,000 MyLink Points, MyLink Members can exclusively earn 10,000 MyLink Points (900 winners). Please visit http://bit.ly/37qPprU for more details of “5G by your side – WeWalk for Rewards”.

For more information and further exciting activities hosted as part of the “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival”, please visit the “CMHK Hong Kong Hiking Festival” at: www.wewalk.hk , follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cmhkhongkonghikingfestival or browse MyLink App.