To many of you, “Sha Tau Kok” is an unknown name.   To Hong Kong residents, it’s a mysterious, restricted area in the far northern New Territories, anchored by something called Chung Ying Street — PR China on one side, Hong Kong on the other side, and unless you actually live there or are closely related to someone who does, you cannot go.  So who wouldn’t want to?  As of 1st January 2024, the door to Sha Tau Kok (STK) opened just a little bit, and people could get permits to enter the town, though not yet Chung Ying Street.  And Hongkong Post issued this announcement, which we’ve only slightly abridged:

“Six postcards designed by the Security Bureau featuring winning entries of the STK Photo and Video Competition will be available at the STK Post Office … In addition, two new cachets designed by the Security Bureau will also be put into use.  The above-mentioned postcards and cachets will only be provided at STK Post Office.  Members of public interested in visiting STK Post Office are required to apply for the Tourism Closed Area Permit of Sha Tau Kok Frontier Closed Area (except Chung Ying Street) through the online platform launched by Hong Kong Police Force …”

So that’s the background.  We were allowed in, got our quota of cards, and saw the tail end of Chung Ying Street through a glass barrier behind some mops and buckets stored by a small restaurant.

This card is captioned in Chinese as the Gold Award Winner, by Xu Youda.  Unique among other cards, it does say Sha Tau Kok in Roman letters.  Grade: 1