Upgraded zones with an array of fashion-brand outlets and time-honored restaurants open at Chung Ying Street on Jan 26, 2024. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Upgraded zones with an array of fashion-brand outlets and time-honored restaurants debuted at Chung Ying Street, a border street wedged between Hong Kong’s North district and Shenzhen’s Yantian district, on Friday.

Goat, an American online platform offering sneakers, luxury apparel and accessories, cherry-picked the street to open its first store in China. Meanwhile, Mak’s Noodle, a traditional Cantonese restaurant widely known in Hong Kong for wonton noodles, also unveiled a new branch on the street.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year Festival, the street initiated a series of events, including writing English couplets, shadow puppetry art displays and onsite livestreaming sales of festive goods.

Authorities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen are determined to revive the Chung Ying Street. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

As part of Sha Tau Kok, which has been designated as part of the Frontier Closed Area since 1951, the street is accessible only to individuals holding a closed area permit (CAP).

Chung Ying Street was once a famous area for shopping. Before Chinese mainland tourists had direct access to Hong Kong, they flocked to the street for Hong Kong products, but the prosperity of the area has declined in recent decades.

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Governments on both sides of the boundary are making efforts to revive the area and transform it into a new high-quality shopping, leisure and culture center.

Yantian district of Shenzhen organizes a ceremony on Jan 26, 2024 to celebrate the opening of upgraded areas at Chung Ying Street. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The Hong Kong government has been opening more locations to the closed area since 2022. In December, a garden covering 1,300 square meters in front of the Chung Ying Street Checkpoint at Sha Tau Kok opened to the public as the second phase of opening-up of Sha Tau Kok, but a CAP is still needed by both Hong Kong residents and visitors to Hong Kong.

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Authorities in the Yantian district of Shenzhen said they will introduce more international brands, time-honored Hong Kong brands, as well as duty-free stores to the street, and establish cultural landmarks as well.