Peak Lighting Project Canceled. Affected Areas Will Be Restored

The government canceled the proposed Peak lighting project on October 29 after objections to installations along Lugard Road and Harlech Road. The Hong Kong Tourism Board will remove the fittings already installed and restore the affected areas, but has not given a completion date.

A Tourism Commission and HKTB paper sent to the Central and Western District Council makes the outcome unusually plain: after considering local feedback and a smaller version of the attraction, the government found “no need to implement the Project” and decided not to proceed. For visitors, this means there is no Peak light show to plan around. It does not mean that every separate WinterFest event has been canceled.

How the Peak lighting project reached the trail

The proposal was for small lighting and projection installations at designated points around Lugard Road and Harlech Road, rather than a single illuminated building or a replacement for the view over Victoria Harbour. The official paper describes a nature-themed sequence meant to depict plant growth, with ground-level effects, fittings on some trees and low-volume natural sounds. The lights were planned to operate from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., then switch off. These were plans, not hours for an attraction that opened.

The paper says the Peak installation was originally intended to launch alongside new immersive light shows under Hong Kong WinterFest, part of the program replacing “A Symphony of Lights.” It does not say the wider program has been withdrawn. That distinction matters to anyone reading an older preview that still lists the Peak trail as a forthcoming evening stop.

HKTB told the district council that it had met the Central and Western district officer in April and sent notices to nearby residents on May 5, September 2 and September 24. Opposition became more visible once installation work was under way in October. On October 21, RTHK reported tourism minister Rosanna Law saying that nothing was set in stone and that officials would visit the site and listen to residents. The council paper records visits with lawmakers and district councillors on October 23, 24 and 27.

A smaller scheme did not settle the objections

The proposed revision would have reduced the number of lit spots along the trail from 10 to seven, cut the duration from one year to the end of February 2027 and lowered the number of trees carrying fittings from 52 to about 24. HKTB had also begun removing installations at the Harlech Road entrance, the Harlech Road Fitness Station and the High West Picnic Area lawns. The paper says those lawns were to be restored so the recreational space could reopen as soon as possible.

Those concessions produced the central trade-off in the official explanation. The government and HKTB said a reduced scheme might still leave residents and trail users concerned about the Peak’s natural environment, while also weakening the intended visual effect. That is the authorities’ assessment, not an independent finding that the lighting would have harmed wildlife or that a full installation would have succeeded as a tourist draw.

The government also pointed to other concerts, sporting and cultural events and upcoming festive attractions when explaining why it no longer needed this particular project. The paper does not provide a visitor forecast, a survey of travelers, a project budget or a figure for the cost of dismantling. It therefore cannot establish how much tourism the Peak installation might have generated or how much of its allocated money the cancellation will save.

What happens on Lugard and Harlech roads now

The immediate instruction is removal and restoration, not a trial run. In an October 29 RTHK report, Law said only part of the work had been done, operations and maintenance had not begun, and the resources used were limited. She said the fittings being removed could be useful in other HKTB projects. Her description offers no spending total, and “could” is not a commitment to a particular reuse.

The council paper says HKTB will dismantle all related installations as soon as possible and fully restore affected areas, but it gives no date for finishing either job. Visitors should not treat the earlier 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. schedule, the proposed 2027 end date or the revised seven-stop route as current visitor information. They belonged to a show the government has now decided not to stage.

For the Peak, the attraction that remains is the one the lighting was supposed to complement. The official record closes the project; it does not put a new opening night on the trail.