Land management of paths in the countryside: A field study of access to British and Japanese Second World War pillboxes in Hong Kong

Orientated to the theorization of accessibility to tourist resources as a means of conservation under the threat of climate change, this interdisciplinary surveying and conservation planning paper seeks to address the problem of accessibility to pillboxes covered by a territorial policy of conserving Second World War relics in Hong Kong’s countryside. The authors’ methodology includes establishing ground information through conventional field searches to overcome the limitations of remote-sensing by aerial photography. The paper reports the findings of the authors’ field study from December 2024 to May 2025, which intended to identify, grade, and map routes to World War II pillboxes (PBs) built by the British defenders and Japanese invaders of Hong Kong. The findings on these routes were recorded on 63 survey maps and two tables. This study was essential as, in the context of global warming and increased vegetation growth, many routes to heritage sites shown on survey maps have been lost to vegetation growth due to long years of neglect. Some land management issues with path maintenance in the open are discussed. As a contribution to local war heritage and historical tourism, this paper specifies the policy relevance and advantages of government upkeep of the access paths as thematic trails to the PBs, and their gradings, as well as offers some concrete recommendations for this task. It also discusses the practical implications of its findings.