Mainland China-based dealers and collectors visiting this year’s Art Basel in Hong Kong (ABHK) (until 29 May) face a difficult return home after a sudden cancellation of all flights from the special administrative region to the mainland.
The suspension has not been formally announced at time of publication and so no official statement from the fair has been issued, but our searches of online booking platforms show no flights available between Hong Kong and mainland China before early August.
Some dealers say that the in-person mainlander presence at ABHK was already reduced this year, given widespread lockdowns across Chinese cities and the current elusiveness of Hong Kong visas for mainlanders. Since last year’s edition, exhibitors at ABHK have pivoted to focusing on a small but affluent local market, rather than a broader Chinese or Asian collector base.
“We are not aware of a noticeable trend” regarding mainland visitors, says an ABHK spokesperson, declining comment on the sudden unavailability of flights. “Hong Kong is home to a strong, growing and engaged collector base which sustains the city’s flourishing art scene. While some people have left the city in recent months, the local market remains strong. Galleries have been reporting robust sales across all levels of the market and are meeting new collectors which is an encouraging sign, with many serious collectors in attendance and returning to the show on more than one occasion.”
“The attendees are very good in quality” this year, with “lots mainlanders, either living in Hong Kong or who traveled to Hong Kong,” says Hong Kong’s Galerie du Monde managing director Kelvin Yang. “We did extremely well at the opening in terms of sales.”
Ferries, trains and buses from Hong Kong to mainland China also appear unavailable, though travel via Macau remains possible. The flight cancellations have sparked concerns that it may be related to Beijing’s military exercises over the Taiwan Strait in retaliation for US President Joe Biden’s comments this week that America would intervene if mainland China invades Taiwan. However, flights between Taiwan and both Hong Kong and the mainland continue.
The flight cancellations come as Hong Kong’s aviation links with the rest of Asia begin to resume. Much of mainland China is enforcing strict Covid-19 control measures, as the country struggles to stamp out an outbreak that began in March with various lockdowns and travel restrictions nationwide. While Hong Kong’s infection rates are currently moderate, with 251 reported yesterday, high viral loads in monitored sewage suggest an upswing is beginning. Meanwhile, mainland China yesterday logged 354 new infections.
