PHOTO Hong Kong Alleys Brought to Standstill on Halloween Night

On the night of the 31st (local time), the Central district on Hong Kong Island came to a standstill with Halloween crowds. Every alley connecting Lan Kwai Fong and Soho was packed with costumed revelers, and police controlled traffic flow with barricades, creating one-way processions.

The streets themselves became a stage. Lines formed for commemorative photos with a participant dressed as the Na'vi from the movie 'Avatar,' and the entire alley filled with a costume procession, from a pair of Spartan warriors complete with helmets and cloaks to prisoners in jumpsuits and those in horror movie masks. Jiangshi costumes in Qing dynasty official robes drew laughter from the alley crowds, and Hong Kong's Monetary Authority (HKMA) sent out staff wearing monster masks to conduct a Halloween phishing prevention campaign with the message 'clicking any link will get you.'

The Halloween night street festival is considered the largest annual nighttime event around the Central Lan Kwai Fong area. This year too, crowds reached their peak as midnight approached.

Hong Kong=Reporter Moon Geun-hwi