The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is inviting proposals suggesting how to make full use of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. Let me use this column to share some of my ideas.

First of all, despite the current access difficulties, the cruise terminal is actually blessed with an excellent location, with unparalleled views of Victoria Harbour, extending from Lei Yue Mun in the east all the way to the western end, with the Peak and the International Finance Centre featuring prominently. It could be easily accessed with ferry services if we make them available. I proposed, in this column back in 2023, that we should have frequent and direct ferry services linking the terminal with Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai. Our Water Taxi service is a joke. The website promises “7 sailings every day”. These “water taxis”, however, are clearly in the nature of a sightseeing boat ride rather than a means of getting from A to B. Ferries could carry hundreds of passengers to and from Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai swiftly and with no concerns about traffic jams.  

Of course, running a ferry service is costly. To make the terminal more attractive, the rooftop garden is simply not enough to attract visitors. To enhance demand, we need to offer attractions that are renewed regularly and which touch people’s hearts. To achieve this, the best bet must be cultural performances by people from Hong Kong. The city is by no means short of talented cultural performers. However, it is desperately short of performance and exhibition venues. We can create a good number of performance venues at the cruise terminal and in its vicinity. Whether it is musical performance, singing, stage plays, dances, magic, or visual art displays, as long as it is unique to Hong Kong, it will make a lasting impression on visitors and locals alike. I personally am very impressed with the talent that Hong Kong has displayed. My personal disappointment is why our government has so far not taken advantage of these talents and created sufficient venues so these talents can shine. I had high hopes when the government proposed the idea of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). But it did not turn out the way I had hoped. I am sure many young people are equally, if not more, disappointed.  

These venues need not be big. Smallish venues accommodating audiences of 100 to 200, with good acoustics and comfortable seating, will do. We should target multiple performances from different sectors each day. Rental charges should be accessible to small-budget troupes. Hong Kong currently sorely lacks such venues. Given the creativity of our local talent, if affordable and accessible venues are available, I am positive that in time the variety of shows will ensure that the cruise terminal will become a lure for both visitors and locals.  

Last week, a working group from the special administrative region government proposed 30 measures to promote the “silver economy”. Turning the cruise terminal into a cultural performance center will benefit the elderly and the economy in multiple ways. Our expanding elderly population will not only be patrons. They may even perform if they are given a chance. Typically, our young performers have their own fans and will have their ways of bringing them to the cruise terminal, thus making the proposed ferry services commercially viable.

The original planners were probably right in not positioning the cruise terminal as a shopping center. Indeed, we have many shopping centers already, and cruise tourists will be more interested in seeing the city sights and learning what is unique about Hong Kong. Having some souvenir shops, convenience stores and eateries is fine, but offering a taste of Hong Kong’s creative and cultural industries will be a draw for the cruise terminal.

I am sad to say that WKCD has not yet built a brand name for Hong Kong. The Xiqu Centre has helped to some extent. But M+ has not done much to display Hong Kong’s talents. Given the fact that we now have the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, it should take the cruise terminal in hand and set a new course.

Now that the Kai Tak Sports Park has opened — and given that it is reputed to be the largest sports, entertainment and mega-event complex in Hong Kong’s history, and it is in the vicinity of the cruise terminal — the bureau should have a clear vision of what we should do to make both park and terminal part of the ecosystem to build a brand name for Hong Kong’s cultural industry.

And it is not only an “industry” in economic terms. It is also going to project Hong Kong’s image and spirit to the world — that we are vibrant, innovative, creative, civilized, and humanistic. We must help China, our motherland, to forge ahead with its Global Civilization Initiative and its mission to create a future for shared human destiny.

The author is a former director of the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and adjunct professor of the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.