“It’s really a pity,” she added. “I just hope that this won’t lead to chaos.”

For the protesters, catching the attention of mainland visitors is partly the point. In the early hours of Wednesday, demonstrators expanded their sit-in zone to the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Kowloon, which includes Canton Road and is home to dozens of luxury retailers including Fendi, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Louis Vuitton.

“The most important reason for coming here is there are a lot of tourists, a lot of luxury stores and people from mainland China,” said Frankie Chan, 28, a Hong Kong securities broker who joined the occupation of Canton Road on Wednesday.

“They only have limited sources of information,” he said. “We are not stopping their shopping. We are not against mainland tourists. We want to draw their attention to what Hong Kong is fighting for.”

The Chinese authorities have been trying hard to contain the spread of pro-democracy sentiment, and have moved swiftly against scores of people after they shared articles and photographs about the demonstrations online. Those not detained say they have been harassed and threatened with arrest if they continue to publicize the protests.

Several detainees had reportedly taken part in “Going Bald for Hong Kong,” an ad hoc solidarity campaign in which participants cut off their hair.

Ou Biaofeng, a social activist in the central province of Hunan who was among the first to publicize his shaved head on social media, said he was picked up by the authorities early Wednesday morning and driven to the countryside. “I’m on a forced vacation,” he said by telephone in a whisper, presumably because he was in the company of the police.