Hong Kong authorities warn against climbing and sitting on the 400 million-year-old rock as the act can cause serious damage to the geological heritage site. Photo: Xiaohongshu social media platform.
The recent circulating footage on social media about people standing on the 400 million-year-old rock in Hong Kong, outcrop at a Unesco-protected country park's to take selfies has caught the attention of the authority, therefore visitors and residents have been warned against the act which can cause serious damage to the geological heritage site.
According to the video and the pictures widely shared on Xiaohongshu, mainland China social media platform, people were seen sitting, standing and display different kind of poses on the rock to take perfect selfies.
The Devil’s Fist is popular hiking spot at the end of Bluff Head in the Plover Cove Country Park and this natural landscape is a recommended attraction on Xiaohongshu.
Rocks in this area were known to be formed by deposits from estuarine deltas 400 million years ago, and assumed their vertical shape through a variety of geological processes.
Weathering and coastal erosion caused the formation of distinctively shaped rocks, most notably the Devil’s Fist.
The authority said, searching results revealed that many selfies of people standing or sitting on the rock, despite a warning on the site appealing to visitors to protect the park’s natural features.
The additional statement from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department's spokesperson mentioned that there would be stepping up of warning messages to resident and overseas visitors through social media platforms.
The department said that guidelines for visitors were displayed at all Hong Kong geopark visitor centres and also near the Devil’s Fist at Wong Chuk Kok Tsui, adding that the patrols would give warnings to visitors for violation of its guidelines and promised to step up promotion of the rules on social media.
According to the regulations, climbing a rock in country parks is not an offence under.
However, it was made known that the Codes for Visiting Geosites in Hong Kong says visitors “should not climb the rock columns or walk on severely weathered or eroded surfaces”.
The Country Parks and Special Areas Regulations also prohibit anyone without authorisation from “digging, cultivating or disturbing the soil”.
香港當局警告不要攀登地質公園內有 400 年歷史的魔鬼拳
最近社群媒體上流傳的一段人們站在香港一處受聯合國教科文組織保護的郊野公園的4億年前岩石上自拍的影片引起了當局的注意，因此遊客和居民已收到警告可能對地質遺產地造成嚴重損害的行為。
根據在中國大陸社交媒體平台小紅書上廣泛傳播的影片和圖片，可以看到人們在岩石上坐著、站著、擺出各種姿勢來拍完美的自拍照。
魔鬼拳是船灣郊野公園懸崖頭盡頭的熱門健行地點，其自然景觀是小紅樹上推薦的景點。
據了解，該地區的岩石是由 4 億年前河口三角洲的沉積物形成的，並透過各種地質過程呈現垂直形狀。
風化和海岸侵蝕形成了獨特形狀的岩石，其中最著名的是魔鬼之拳。
當局表示，搜尋結果顯示，儘管網站上有呼籲遊客保護公園自然景觀的警告，但仍有許多人站在或坐在岩石上自拍。
漁農自然照護署發言人在補充聲明中提到，將透過社群媒體平台加強向居民和海外遊客發出警告訊息。
環保署表示，香港所有地質公園遊客中心以及黃竹角咀魔鬼拳附近均已張貼遊客指引，並補充說，巡邏隊會向違反指引的遊客發出警告，並承諾會加強宣傳社交媒體上的規則。
根據規定，在郊野公園內攀爬岩石並不屬違法。
然而，據了解，《香港地質遺跡參觀守則》規定，遊客「不應攀爬岩柱或在嚴重風化或侵蝕的表面行走」。
《郊野公園及特別地區規例》也禁止任何人未經授權「挖掘、耕種或擾動土壤」。
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