Kwu Tung resident Niki So plays with her pet bird at her home in Hong Kong, on June 17, 2026. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Leung Man Hei / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Officers from Hong Kong's Lands Department, accompanied by police and other security personnel, enter resident Niki So's village house during a land resumption operation in the Kwu Tung area of Hong Kong's northern New Territories, on June 23, 2026. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Leung Man Hei / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Kwu Tung resident Niki So poses for a portrait in front of new residential developments under construction in Hong Kong, on June 17, 2026. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Leung Man Hei / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Photo taken on June 15, 2026 shows Chan Yuk-tong, a 71 year-old retiree clearing out belongings in the yard of his family home in Tin Sam village close to the border to China in northern Hong Kong. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Officers from Hong Kong's Lands Department, accompanied by police and other security personnel, enter resident Niki So's village house during a land resumption operation in the Kwu Tung area of Hong Kong's northern New Territories, on June 23, 2026. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Leung Man Hei / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Photo taken on June 15, 2026 shows Chan Yuk-tong, a 71 year-old retiree clearing out belongings in the yard of his family home in Tin Sam village close to the border to China in northern Hong Kong. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Workers remove belongings from a village demolition site in Kwu Tung as new residential developments under construction dominate the background under Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis development plan, in Hong Kong, on June 17, 2026. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Leung Man Hei / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI

Photo taken on June 15, 2026 shows a resident clearing out belongings in a family home in Tin Sam village close to the border to China in northern Hong Kong. An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland are being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Hong Kong-economy-technology-development, FOCUS by Catherine LAI