Driven by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, movie tourism on the rise in Hong Kong – and it’s a growing trend in Asia

Movie and TV tourism has grown, especially in Hong Kong and South Korea, where tourists like to visit film locations and re-enact their favourite scenes

An emotional connection to a loved old movie or TV series can have a big influence in the choice of a holiday destination for some travellers

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Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, where the Wong Kar-wai film Chungking Express (1994) was set. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:30am, 21 Dec 2019Updated: 7:45pm, 21 Dec 2019

Enthusiastically adopting kung fu poses, visitors to the statue of movie icon Bruce Lee, on Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars beside Victoria Harbour, get a kick out of impersonating their screen idol.

“I think movie culture is the most important cultural aspect of Hong Kong. Everyone knows the movies and the actors Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Leslie Cheung,” says Paul Chan Chi-yuen, co-founder and CEO of tour group Walk in Hong Kong, as he stands next to the popular tourist landmark.

Chan’s company regularly conducts movie-themed walking tours of the city. Armed with an iPad and clipboard, he and his colleagues lead groups of locals and international visitors to locations immortalised in about 20 famous Hong Kong films. He then plays the relevant clips while answering questions from enthusiasts eager to glean any new information about their heroes.

“They are always curious about the gossip and side stories, and they really want to know the exact location. Then they like to pretend and mimic their favourite movie stars,” Chan says.

Chungking Mansions on busy Nathan Road is a popular destination. The culturally diverse building crammed with shops, restaurants and low-budget guest houses played a memorable role in the 1994 classic Chungking Express, directed by Wong Kar-wai, and starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Faye Wong.

A short walk away is the InterContinental Hong Kong. Standing in front of the luxury hotel, Chan shows a clip on his iPad of the Stephen Chow Sing-chi comedy From Beijing with Love, also released in 1994. This is where leading man Chow, playing a secret agent, tries to check in, only to find he has made a wrong booking and ends up in a cheap local hostel with a similar name.

Driven by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, movie tourism on the rise in Hong Kong – and it’s a growing trend in Asia

Movie and TV tourism has grown, especially in Hong Kong and South Korea, where tourists like to visit film locations and re-enact their favourite scenes An emotional connection to a loved old movie or TV series can have a big influence in the choice of a holiday destination for some travellers

Movie and TV tourism has grown, especially in Hong Kong and South Korea, where tourists like to visit film locations and re-enact their favourite scenes

An emotional connection to a loved old movie or TV series can have a big influence in the choice of a holiday destination for some travellers