Near Hong Kong's main train station, Ah Chuen and several other young women from China position themselves by the entrance of a cheap hotel.
Decked out in a bare-backed top, tight jeans and stiletto heels, the prostitute throws a teasing glance at a passer-by before sashaying up to whisper in his ear.
Ah Chuen, 23, and her compatriots are among thousands of Chinese who have been quick to take advantage of an increasingly porous border and Hong Kong's closer ties with China since the former British colony returned to the Chinese fold in 1997.
Hong Kong is hoping that a flood of Chinese tourists will help revive its ailing economy, but fears are growing that they will also bring an increase in crime such as prostitution, money laundering and theft.
Instead of thronging tourist sites, restaurants and fancy boutiques, some female "tourists" offer sex while men work illegally on construction sites.
"It's my third time visiting Hong Kong in the last year," said Ah Chuen, who charges customers HK$500 (US$64).
China recently agreed to allow individual tourists from parts of neighboring Guangdong Province to visit Hong Kong and will extend the scheme to residents of Beijing and Shanghai in September. Previously, Chinese visitors could only visit Hong Kong as part of tour groups.
The moves are widely seen as intended to give an economic boost to Hong Kong, which was rocked by big demonstrations against the Beijing-backed government last month, alarming China's leaders.
Beijing believes political tension in the city will quickly evaporate once the economy improves, but a sharp increase in crime could fuel public antipathy toward the mainland and strain ties.
"With the increase in the number of mainland visitors, we don't rule out that some will take up illegal work and stay on as beggars, prostitutes and illegal workers," Security Secretary Ambrose Lee (
"We will increase raids on hot spots. Those caught will be sent back and they will be stopped from coming here for between one to five years. But the percentage of those caught breaking the law is small, 0.3 percent or three in 10,000 people."
The police have also said said they will step up efforts to quash cross-boundary crime.
The government warned property agents last month that they must report any suspicious deals to authorities.
The notice came after one real-estate agency reported a Chinese traveller had paid more than HK$2 million (US$256,400) in cash for five apartments during a brief visit to Hong Kong.
Chinese travellers are only allowed to take a maximum of 6,000 yuan (US$724) out of the country per trip.
Nearly 300 black-market laborers were arrested in the first seven months of this year, 54 percent more than the period a year ago, government figures show.
But social workers say many illegal workers are not caught.
While it is illegal for tourists to work in Hong Kong, prostitution is legal in the territory and it is relatively easy for someone from the mainland to pass themselves off as a Hong Kong person.
However, it is a crime to solicit and overstay one's visa.
A growing number of women operate on their own without using pimps from Hong Kong's crime syndicates. They earn their money quietly and leave on the day their visas expire, free to apply to visit Hong Kong again the moment they are over the border.
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