Golden Week Day Two: Crowd Controls at the Ruins of St. Paul's as Pedestrian Zones Open in Two Districts
MACAO — Visitor flows surged into the historic centre on October 2, the second day of the mainland's National Day Golden Week. The Public Security Police briefly activated crowd-control measures around the Ruins of St. Paul's that afternoon as numbers built up, a step repeated on peak afternoons through October 4. Police said the scene remained orderly, with residents and visitors following officers' directions.
To spread the flows, temporary pedestrian zones operated in the old town of Taipa and along Rua dos Ervanários and neighbouring streets from October 1 to 6, between noon and 7 p.m. daily, with temporary traffic controls on surrounding roads. The Macao Government Tourism Office staffed visitor information points in both districts and pushed out short videos explaining the crowd and traffic arrangements, encouraging visitors to explore community neighbourhoods beyond the main sights.
Border checkpoints stayed busy through the first days of the holiday. In its holiday policing summary, the Public Security Police said officers had been redeployed to front-line posts at the Border Gate, Hengqin, Qingmao and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge checkpoints, and that real-time crossing and crowd-control information was shared with hotels and tour operators through an established police liaison mechanism so travellers could plan their journeys.
Accommodation demand was also at its peak. Tourism Office figures published after the holiday showed October 2 recorded the highest hotel occupancy of the entire Golden Week period. Hotels had added staff for the family-heavy holiday and promoted family, cultural, leisure and community food experiences aimed at overnight guests. Police said major hotspots — Avenida Almeida Ribeiro, the Ruins of St. Paul's, Taipa old town and the Cotai Strip — all drew heavy crowds, with deployments adjusted dynamically to keep order and traffic moving.
Sources: Compiled from the Public Security Police's National Day holiday policing summary published on the Macao SAR Government Portal and Tourism Office holiday data.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：大三巴牌坊与石阶上的游客人潮。摄影：Bahnfrend，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
