The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region came alive with National Day festivities on Thursday, Oct 1, as district carnivals, special cultural and tourism offers, and shopping discounts brought residents and tourists into the citywide celebrations that reflected pride in the country’s and the city’s progress and shared confidence in their future prosperity.

Chinese national flags and the SAR’s regional flags adorned streets and lanes across the city, and celebratory posters greeted people at every turn while they enjoyed an array of events set to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Thursday also marked the start of a seven-day National Day Golden Week break on the Chinese mainland, with Hong Kong set to expect about 1.29 million mainland visitor arrivals, up about 5 percent year on year.

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To spice up the festivities, Hong Kong’s various sectors welcomed the holiday cheer with free admission, discounts and giveaways. The MTR — the city’s main mass transit railway network — distributed 77,000 digital single-journey tickets, while passengers could ride all tram services free of charge for the day.

Cinemas across the city halved ticket prices, and various leisure facilities and museum exhibitions granted free admission. More than 3,800 restaurants and businesses offered dining discounts, with the annual firework display over Victoria Harbour set to cap the day.

At Cultural Square in Sheung Wan — part of Hong Kong’s Central and Western District — the festive spirit was already drawing crowds in the early morning sunshine, as district officials, community workers, business and cultural leaders joined residents and tourists for a district carnival.

Speaking at the carnival’s opening, Ha Chung-kin, executive chairman of the Central and Western District Celebrations Association, one of the event’s co-organizers, described it as both “a grand celebration of the motherland’s birthday” and “a collective expression of love for the country and Hong Kong”.

“We hope more members of the public can feel the strength, the warmth of our nation through performances, interactive games and themed exhibitions,” he said.

About 20 game booths featured at the carnival, including one where children could join specialist-led workshops to learn about astronauts’ work and the national space technology development, as well as step into astronaut costumes for photos.

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Shan Cheng, the booth’s manager, told reporters that it drew inspiration from Hong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying who has been on a space mission aboard the country’s Shenzhou XXIII spacecraft since May.

“We in Hong Kong are very happy for her and proud of our country’s advanced space technologies,” Cheng said. “We chose National Day to organize such a space-themed activity, so that more young people can appreciate that progress.” She added that the booth had proved especially popular with children.

Among the people drawn to the city’s annual celebrations were Satine Sha and her eight-year-old son, who had just got off a tram at Queen Street in Sheung Wan.

Having moved to Hong Kong from Beijing this year, they had headed out to soak up the city’s festive atmosphere on their first National Day here. Their planned itinerary includes a free tram ride and the evening fireworks over Victoria Harbour.

The two also planned to try restaurants offering meals at 77 percent of the usual bill for lunch and dinner. “Because it’s the 77th anniversary of the founding of our country!” her son piped up.

Photographer Yang Wenji, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, made a special trip to Hong Kong to photograph the city’s iconic National Day fireworks and for a two-day holiday.

“Hong Kong looked especially festive for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, with lots of traditional Chinese elements, so I came to see for myself,” he said, referring to the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival 2026 at Victoria Park he had seen online a few days earlier. The showcase has been extended until Oct 7 in view of its popularity.

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Separately, the city’s hiking offerings were also received enthusiastically, with the High Island Geo Trail’s Po Pin Chau Section at High Island Reservoir East Dam in Sai Kung, which introduced a reservation system earlier, fully booked from Oct 1 to 6.

The authorities said that Sai Kung East Country Park, Sharp Island and Shui Hau on Lantau Island could see a substantial rise in visitors during the holiday period.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com