111 Places in Hong Kong that you shouldn't miss: Reiseführer

By Kathrin Bielfeldt, Raymond Wong and Jürgen Bürger

The ultimate insider's guide to Hong Kong
Features interesting and unusual places not found in traditional travel guides .
From zero to hundred in 175 years – no other metropolis has as compressed and chequered a history as Hong Kong, with its striking and seamless blend of eastern and western cultures. Famous for its cosmopolitan nightlife, cutting-edge fashion, culinary sophistication, and entertainment, Hong Kong also conceals a trove of lesser-known and unpredictable experiences. More than 260 islands and country parks as far as the eye can see … who would expect such breathtaking natural beauty in one of the most densely populated cities on Earth? Step off the beaten path to explore Hong Kong's hidden heart. Discover what compels locals to stand in a line that snakes around the corner every morning at 4:30am, and from which "Great Wall of China" you will find a wonderful view over the South China Sea. Learn what gas lanterns have to do with the bubonic plague, and visit a place where 1,000,000 HK$ for a golf cart seems like a bargain. From secluded beaches to wishing trees, prepare to be surprised, delighted, and amazed.
Entdecken Sie versteckte Orte und Geschichten abseits der bekannten Pfade, die den wahren Charakter Hongkongs enthüllen.
Von null auf hundert in 175 Jahren – keine andere Metropole hat eine so komprimierte und bewegte Geschichte, in keiner anderen Metropole vereinen sich östliche und westliche Kultur so eindrucksvoll und harmonisch wie in Hongkong. Berühmt für das Nachtleben, die innovative Mode, die kulinarische Raffinesse und das Entertainment, hält Hongkong auch weitere weniger bekannte und unvorhersehbare Erlebnisse bereit.
Erkunden Sie Hongkongs verstecktes Herz abseits der touristischen Pfade. Finden Sie heraus, was die Anwohner dazu bringt, sich in einer Schlange anzustellen, die jeden Morgen schon um 4.30 Uhr um ganze Häuserecken reicht.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emons Verlag
• Release date: Nov 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9783960411727

Book preview

111 Places in Hong Kong That You Shouldn’t Miss

Kathrin Bielfeldt and Raymond Wong

emons: Verlag

Imprint

© Emons Verlag GmbH // 2016

All rights reserved

Text: Kathrin Bielfeldt and Raymond Wong

© Photographs: Jürgen Bürger, except Beef & Liberty (place 4): Beef and Liberty Ltd; Central Market (place 13): Chan See Ting; Opus Hong Kong (place 67): Swire Properties; Sammy’s Kitchen (place 82): Mogens Andersen; Tsui Wah (place 102): Raymond Wong; Wang Fu (place 105): Chan See Ting © Cover icon: supakitmod/depositphotos.com

Design: Emons Verlag

Maps based on data by Openstreetmap, © Openstreet Map-participants, ODbL

ISBN 978-3-96041-172-7

eBook of the original print edition published by Emons Verlag

Did you enjoy it? Do you want more? Join us in uncovering new places around the world on: www.111places.com

Table of contents

Foreword

1_Arch Angel Antiques |

Better than a museum

2_Art Supermarket |

Pick up a picture

3_Avenue of Comic Stars |

The hands that created them …

4_Beef & Liberty |

All about burgers and gridiron buttons

5_Betsy |

Homecoming of an old lady

6_Bibo |

Art picked off the streets

7_Blue House |

Power to the people

8_Bridges Street |

Water, but not a bridge in sight

9_Casadei |

Rediscovering a forgotten artist

10_Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception |

A corner of Italy in Hong Kong

11_Cattle Depot Artist Village |

The wide arch of history

12_Central Ferry Pier |

A building with a moving history

13_Central Market |

Classic Streamline Moderne architecture

14_Chancery Lane |

A small alley behind the prison wall

15_Chater Road |

The first steps onto new land

16_Chinese Arts & Crafts |

Chinese craftsmanship at its best

17_Chu Wing Kee Store |

Made with pride in Hong Kong

18_Chungking Mansions |

Home to the world

19_Colonial Mailboxes |

A piece of living history

20_Comix Homebase |

Starting point of the Wan Chai Heritage Trail

21_Discovery Bay |

Where golf carts go for US$129,000

22_The Double Oval |

A widely travelled sculpture

23_Duck Shing Ho Bakery |

What makes people queue at 4.30 in the morning?

24_Duddell Street |

Rats and lanterns

25_Financial District |

Very different at weekends

26_The Flying Frenchman |

The hidden angel on the promenade

27_Foo Tak Building |

Art on the up and up

28_Former Kowloon British School |

Hijacking the spirit of education

29_The Fringe Club |

Theatre and all that jazz

30_Government House |

The big puzzle

31_Gutzlaff Street |

A German language genius on a larger mission

32_The Helena May |

The legacy of the suffragettes

33_HKWalls |

If you have the wall, they have the art

34_The Horizon Plaza |

Bargain hunting in an old factory building

35_The HSBC |

The cathedral of capitalism

36_Hysan Place |

A change of perspective

37_IFC Mall Roof Garden |

Out in the sunshine in the middle of town

38_Jamia Mosque |

An oasis of calm

39_Jao Tsung-I Academy |

A different computation of time

40_Jardine House |

The house of a thousand coins

41_The JCCAC |

Myriad artists under one big roof

42_The John Osborn Statue |

The story of a hero

43_The Kadoorie Farm |

A tangerine tree and its consequences

44_Kau Ling Chung |

A most secluded campsite

45_Kom Tong Hall |

A not-so-thoroughly classical monument

46_Kubrick and Broadway |

The mecca of film aficionados

47_Kwan Tai Temple |

The art of the potter

48_The Lily |

Asia’s richest woman and her feng shui master

49_Lin Heung Tea House |

A tradition with a difference

50_Lock Cha Tea House |

A paradise for tea lovers

51_Lugard Road |

The higher the better

52_Lui Seng Chun |

A much-loved building

53_Mama Chau |

Heavy on heat, light on the wallet

54_Maritime Museum |

All hands on deck

55_Mavericks |

Beach life in Pui O

56_Methodist Church |

In the end, churches are just companies

57_Mini Great Wall |

The Cheung Chau Family Trail

58_Mui Wo |

The art of slowing down

59_Murray House |

What became of the old barracks

60_Nan Lian Garden |

Breathtakingly beautiful

61_Nathan Road |

In praise of the neon tube

62_Ngong Ping |

An architect with a vision

63_Oi! Art Space |

Creative freedom at US$2.50 per square metre

64_Old Mental Hospital |

The 111th monument

65_Old Stanley Police Station |

Tiger hunting in Hong Kong?

66_Old Trees |

Afforestation – English style

67_Opus Hong Kong |

Where you would be happy to own a closet

68_Pak Tai Temple |

The most beautiful picnic table in Hong Kong

69_Pak Tsz Lane Park |

Cutting off the old pigtail

70_Parsee Cemetery |

A very pragmatic solution

71_Peng Chau Island |

Looking back on a long history

72_Ping Shan |

Discovering Hong Kong’s first heritage trail

73_Police Married Quarters |

Perfect conditions

74_Possession Point Hill |

Where Hong Kong became British

75_Qing Stone Tablet |

Fighting back against authority

76_Queen’s Road West |

Honouring the ancestors

77_Rednaxela Terrace |

Chinglish and other confusions

78_The Repulse Bay Hotel |

The Riviera of the Orient

79_The Rock Carvings |

It began long before the British

80_St Andrew’s Church |

A rare group of buildings in neo-Gothic style

81_St Joseph’s Church |

All good things come in threes

82_Sammy’s Kitchen |

Where’s the beef?

83_SARS Memorial |

Heroes in white coats

84_Sha Tin Heritage Museum |

A visit to the opera

85_Shanghai Street |

An El Dorado of culinary hardware

86_Shek Kip Mei |

A fire and a very rare find

87_Signal Hill |

A hill with a German past

88_Silvermine Waterfall |

No silver, but an outhouse

89_The Sing Lee Factory |

No construction site, even if it looks like one

90_The Stoep |

The oldest South African restaurant in Hong Kong

91_The Tai Chi Series |

In serenity is strength

92_Tai O Heritage Hotel |

Nine bullet holes

93_Tai Ping Shan |

The telegram was faster

94_Taikoo Artwalk |

Kevin Fung - living the dream

95_Taikoo Shing |

Skating, sachets of sugar and a cable car

96_Tak Sun School |

Bruce Lee’s yellow jumpsuit

97_Tamar Park |

A park with a past

98_Tanka Boat People |

A life at sea

99_To Tsu Kok |

A curious little shop on Peng Chau

100_Tony’s Photo Shop |

A small shop with a long history

101_Trappist Monastery |

Contemplating the silence

102_Tsui Wah |

The Cantonese take on European food

103_The Tung Wah Group |

More than just a hospital

104_Vertical Art Space |

Keep-fit arts trail

105_Wang Fu Restaurant |

Dumplings à la carte

106_Whampoa Shopping Centre |

On the site of the old docks

107_Wing Lee Street |

How a film saved a street

108_Wing Wo Bee Farm in Sha Tin |

Honey and clever bees

109_The Wishing Tree |

Wishing on a plastic tree

110_Wontonmeen |

Ambassadors of design

111_Yau Ma Tei Theatre |

Cantonese operas and erotica

Gallery

Maps

Foreword

On January 26, 2016, Hong Kong turned 175.

To really see behind the façade of this young and magnificent city, you have to look back to the very beginning. So, imagine the following situation: in 1841 a handful of British and a couple of Europeans, most of them merchants, plus some military troops, founded a colony on a relatively barren island, thinly populated apart from a few small fishing villages. None of the occupants ascribes any real importance to this belligerently acquired island; in their eyes it is only a stopover for the merchant vessels on their way up the coast, heading to China’s harbours, which had been recently (and forcibly) opened for trade.

But contrary to their expectations, a growing number of Chinese, mostly craftsmen and merchants, have a very different view. Their home country is in rapid decline, ruined by wars, rebellions, opium addiction, and corruption. Hong Kong offers them the chance of a new beginning and they grasp it in their thousands. Hong Kong’s history will be significantly shaped by the waves of refugees that follow until the 1960s. Within a couple of years, 90 per cent of the population of Hong Kong is Chinese. Just as Chinese speak no English, so hardly any European speaks Chinese. Their cultures and traditions couldn’t be more different.

In this way, two parallel societies develop, with only a limited amount of racial interaction. However, although the British are in the driver’s seat, they grant a great deal of freedom to the Chinese population and abusive exploitation of Chinese labourers is kept within limits. The Chinese make dramatic use of this freedom, maintaining strong links with their roots in China, but taking the best from both worlds to create, in an amazingly short time, the most fascinating and likeable megacity in the world.

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1_Arch Angel Antiques

Better than a museum

If you are interested in relics of bygone days, there are always museums where objects are usually protected by glass. Or you could go for the real thing and do what curators from museums all over the US and Europe are doing - take the direct route to Hollywood Road in SoHo, the source of many museum exhibits.

At SoHo you’ll find a row of well-organised antique shops, like Arch Angel, opened in 1992 by Koos and Bonnie Groot. This massive emporium of more than 500 square metres and stretching out over three levels comprises an exhibition space that contains only the finest collectibles, pottery figurines, porcelain, and Asian art. Arch Angel’s managing director is a member of the Antique Board of the Hong Kong Art Craft Merchants Association, which assesses antiques and issues a certificate of authenticity.

Info

Address G/F 53-55 Hollywood Road, Central, Tel [phone] | Public Transport MTR Island Line (blue), Central, Exit D2 or Sheung Wan, Exit E1 | Hours Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun to 6pm| Tip For those on a small budget, Cat Street offers a variety of attractive souvenirs from the recent past.

To check the authenticity of a pottery figurine, a small, drilled sample is taken from somewhere inconspicuous. The samples are dated using the scientific technique of thermoluminescence, or the radiocarbon method. Depending on the amount of radioactivity accumulated in the material over the years, the age can be determined.

But collectors need to be cautious, as counterfeiters are clever - they buy large fragments of broken old figurines, explained Ms Groot, and turn them into new smaller ones. Or they modify a work by reattaching a foot or an arm in a more interesting and therefore more valuable pose. Another indication of the authenticity of a piece is the documentation provided by the antique dealer, where red lines show the location of fractures before restoration, as it is rare for pottery to survive undamaged for hundreds of years.

A reliable antique dealer is an expert who knows the provenance of the pieces offered and who should have been in the business for a substantial time, trading under the same shop name.

Nearby

Pak Tsz Lane Park (0.031 mi)

Police Married Quarters (0.068 mi)

Gutzlaff Street (0.099 mi)

Lin Heung Tea House (0.106 mi)

To the online map

To the beginning of the chapter

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2_Art Supermarket

Pick up a picture

Back

Until the late 1960s, Hong Kong had just a single gallery. Today there are countless art venues and major players like Gagosian and White Cube have been represented in Hong Kong for many years. Art Basel has even responded to the increased demand for contemporary Asian art with the opening of a local presence.

In Hong Kong just about everything revolves around money. Money needs to be cultivated in a way that makes the most sense economically, and those who already own an electric lawn mower as a status symbol often invest in art. (This, in fact, is no joke, as someone who needs a lawnmower has a correspondingly large lawn. And at prices of €10,000 per square metre for a building plot in fringe areas, gardens don’t come cheap.)

Info

Address G/F, 1 Prince’s Terrace, Mid-Levels, Tel [phone], www.artsupermarketasia.com | Public Transport MTR Island Line (blue), Central, D2; just next to Central Mid-Levels Escalator | Hours Tue–Sat 1pm–8pm, Sun, Mon & public holidays by appointment| Tip If you take the escalators up to Robinson Road, and go west for about 400 yards, you will reach the Ohel Leah, Hong Kong’s oldest synagogue.

The Art Supermarket at Mid-Levels takes a new route. The idea is to integrate art into everyday life and to allow a wider audience to surround themselves with it.

Everybody is familiar with the concept of the supermarket, so the space is unintimidating. The gallery hopes that customers’ curiosity will overcome some of their inhibitions. Even the name implies that paintings and sculpture don’t have to be expensive, just as exorbitant prices don’t inevitably express a high appreciation for the artist. And it is not unusual for high-priced art to end up in vaults as sober investment decisions.

A native of Switzerland, gallery owner Michael Manzardo, who sees himself as a curator rather than an art dealer, focuses on emerging Chinese artists, many of whom have never been exhibited outside China. The mixture of contemporary paintings and sculptures at the Art Supermarket is unconventional and relaxed - pictures in stacks lean against the walls, or pile up in a shopping cart, and the inauguration of a new exhibition is often accompanied by a life art performance.

The only thing you won’t be able to do is pay with the Octopus Card.

Nearby

Rednaxela Terrace (0.025 mi)

Jamia Mosque (0.043 mi)

Chancery Lane (0.112 mi)

Kom Tong Hall (0.13 mi)

To the online map

To the beginning of the chapter

View full image

3_Avenue of Comic Stars

The hands that created them …

Back

There’s a rather beautiful and sizeable park in what could be called the heart of Kowloon, right at Nathan Road in the frenetic surroundings of Tsim Sha Tsui. Although the entrance is wide, you might not notice it as you pass by, as the steps leading to the park begin in a shopping plaza. The shops here have a living green roof and they form a kind of an embankment that shields the park area from the busy street.

Established in 1970, Kowloon Park is located on the grounds of the old Whitfield Barracks. Since 2012 a new attraction has been added: the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars.

Info

Address Kowloon Park, entrance at the level of 120 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | Public Transport MTR Tsuen Wan Line (red), Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit A1; Bus 606S, Park Lane Shopper’s Boulevard | Tip On the streetmarkets around Kowloon (Ladies’ Market, Temple Street Night Market) and in some specialised collectors’ shops you can find a wide variety of comic figures for sale.

Comics, especially Kung Fu comics, are as much part of Hong Kong’s popular culture as Mickey Mouse is to America. The avenue consists of 24 larger-than-life figures of local comic stars and 10 bronze casts of their creators’ hands.

One of the figures is Tiger Wong, from Tiger and Dragon Heroes (formerly Little Rascals), a Kung Fu comic about the lives of young people living in the rundown surroundings of housing estates in a big city. They are drawn by the originator of all Hong Kong comics, Tony Wong Yuk-long, also known as Huang Yulang. Born in 1950, he began drawing at the age of 13 and in 1969 he hit the bull’s eye with Little Rascals, of which the first edition alone sold 7,000 copies. In 1987, almost 20 years later, he was the most important comic artist of Hong Kong. In the 1980s, a veritable comic boom developed, triggered by the