Hong Kong has its own version of Hollywood Walk of Fame that reopened on Thursday after a three-year makeover. Located along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, the Avenue of Stars will be accessible again from 8 am, with much bigger space, seating and shaded areas, and handprints of 117 celebrities.
According to the South China Morning Post, the handprints were moved from the ground to plaques mounted on wooden handrails along the water's edge. Officials noted they made this change to prevent tourists being trampled on while they stop and taking pictures.
Previously, handprints were embedded into the ground which makes it hard for visitors taking photos as they usually stepped on them, said Jeff Tung Jing-kong, the senior project director at property developer New World Development.
Ten more popular movie figures have added their handprints in the redesigned walkway, including Teresa Mo Sun-Kwan, Sandra Ng Kwan-yue, and Carol "Dodo" Cheng Yu-ling - all past winners of best actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Alongside them is Hong Kong's own cartoon character McDull.
Meanwhile, the balustrade has been reportedly built with environmentally friendly materials like mineral oil, salt, and rice husk. The seating in the avenues has been doubled, as well as shaded areas. The statues of biggest movie stars in Hong Kong, such as martial arts legend Bruce Lee, were also upgraded with water features. The protective barriers were also removed, allowing tourists to get up close to the statues.
Tung said they aren't concerned the statutes might get damages as long as tourists and visitors can get up close, they will not deny that opportunity to them.
There will also be dedicated drop-off and pickup areas for coaches to better manage tour groups coming in and out of the area, according to Yau Tsim Mong District Council chairman Chris Ip Ngo-tung. Now, there'll be 11 spots for buses to pick up their groups, while eight spots for dropping them off. The pickup area is at the Salisbury Road entrance of the Avenue of Stars, and the drop-off area is across the street at Chatham Road South.
Attraction's public affairs general manager Fiona Wan Zee-ngan said that although they had not widened the avenue's footbridge, they have been able to expand the accessible area by about two to three feet - allowing visitors to have a more spacious environment.
The Avenue of Stars first opened back in 2004, and the 2.5-meter bronze statue of Bruce Lee, which was created by artist Cao Chong-en, was built in 2005. In October 2015, the walkway closed to undergo repairs and improvement work. It was originally expected to reopen in the third quarter of 2018, but the Leisure and Cultural Services Department pushed back the date when they found it still needed more large-scale works.
