Hong Kong Tuttle Travel Pack: Your Guide to Hong Kong's Best Sights for Every Budget

By Simon Ostheimer

The only guide you'll need for getting around Hong Kong! Everything you need is in this one convenient Hong Kong travel guide--including a large pull-out map!

Sail bustling Hong Kong harbor in an antique junk, take in the spectacular views from Victoria Peak, and visit the Bruce Lee monument on Hong Kong cinema's very own Walk of Fame. Then ride the cable car up to see the giant Buddha, sample tasty Cantonese dim sum in Causeway Bay, and party the night away in chic, hip Lan Kwai Fong. Hong Kong Tuttle Travel Pack offers you the very best of Hong Kong.

This Hong Kong guidebook presents all the top sights and attractions, selected for a wide range of budgets and interests. Easy-to-use and easy-to-carry, it is packed with valuable information, handy lists, maps, photographs, and tips on how to make the most of your stay--so you can spend your time enjoying your visit and not just reading about it.

Hong Kong Tuttle Travel Pack features:

• Hong Kong's Best Sights highlights 21 must-see sights and essential experiences: from the world's biggest light and sound show in Victoria Harbor to a traditional fishing village on stilts; and from shopping on Temple Street to the horse races at spectacular Happy Valley or an eco-tour to see the famous pink dolphins.
• Exploring Hong Kong takes you to top attractions in every part of Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the Outer Islands as well as to Macau and the Chinese mainland.
• Author's Recommendations gives specific details on: excellent hotels and nightspots; the best shopping; the best kid-friendly activities; the best museums and galleries; and the best hikes and nature walks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Release date: Feb 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781462910458

Book preview

Simon Ostheimer grew up in colonial Hong Kong as the son of a British civil servant, and has always felt at home in Asia—be it exploring the streets of Saigon, wandering through the museums of Singapore, playing on the beaches of Boracay or eating char kway teow at the food stalls of Penang. This probably explains why he later became an Asia-roaming editor and writer, spending several years working at magazines in China (Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong) before trying Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Phuket. When he is not city-hopping across Asia, his greatest passion is trying new street food; to him, the region’s multicultural mix of people makes for some of the most enjoyable cuisines in the world. www.simonostheimer.com

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd

www.tuttlepublishing.com

Copyright © 2012 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4629-1045-8 (ebook)

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Hong Kong: ‘The Pearl of the Orient’, the ‘Fragrant Harbour’, the ‘Barren Rock’

This Chinese city by the sea has many guises, the result of constant reinvention. It has variously been a prehistoric settlement, an imperial outpost and a British colony—and always a city in flux.

Brutal wars have been fought over it, bizarre contagions have struck its terrified population, local society has teetered on the edge of revolution, and financial disaster has been imminent. But each time it has trumped the odds to emerge stronger and better than ever before.

My family moved to the city in 1980 when my father took a job with the Hong Kong Government, a short-term contract that was meant to last only three years. I was a one-year-old infant when we left behind the winter snow of England for the exotic climes of Hong Kong.

The then colony was very different from the city you see today. For instance, the MTR had yet to cross the harbour, the tallest building was the 178-m-high Jardine House (today there are 112 buildings that are taller), and Chek Lap Kok was still a small, uninhabited island off remote north Lantau. There were also more colonial buildings around, though Hong Kong has never been a city overly concerned with the past. However, in the three decades since, there are some things that haven’t changed.

Visitors are still wowed by one of the most electrifying skylines in the world, there is an indescribable energy always in the air, and Hong Kongers themselves remain some of the most driven people on earth, never stopping to waste a moment, or—more importantly—miss an opportunity. While we once looked to the West, now all eyes turn north.

One of the first trips we took after we arrived in Hong Kong was a train trip across the border to China. Stepping off the train in Guangzhou, Mao suit-clad Mainland Chinese swarmed to touch the blond hair of this little gweilo in their midst, while our fellow passengers delivered ‘luxury’ goods such as TVs and fridges to their relatives who lived on the China side of the border.

Nowadays, it’s the Mainland Chinese who are courted for their money, and the Mandarin now spoken on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui and Central was non-existent when I was a child.

Things change, the city always moves on. It’s fascinating, infuriating, indescribable and overwhelming all at the same time. It makes you nostalgic about the past but excited for the future. It’s a city you’ll never forget.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Hong Kong at a Glance

Hong Kong’s Storied Past

How To Use This Book

Chapter 1

Hong Kong’s ‘Must See’ Sights

The Star Ferry

The Peak Tram

The Mid-Levels Escalator

The Lantau Big Buddha

Kowloon’s Temple Street

Happy Valley Horse Racing

Stanley Village

The Ping Shan Heritage Trail

Tai O Village

Sea Kayaking

Hollywood Road

Lamma Island

Hong Kong Trams

Morning Tai Chi Classes

Dolphin Watching

Harbour Junk Rides

The Avenue of Stars

Shek O Beachside Village

Lan Kwai Fong Nightlife

Dim Sum Brunch

Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula

Chapter 2

Exploring Hong Kong

Central

Hong Kong Island

Kowloon

The New Territories

The Outer Islands

Macau

The Mainland

Chapter 3

Author’s Recommendations

Top Hotels

Best Food & Restaurants

Best Shopping

Hippest Nightspots

Best Kid-friendly Activities

Best Museums & Art Galleries

Best Nature Walks

Practicalities

Index

HONG KONG MAP

Hong Kong Map

Hong Kong Map Index

Hong Kong at a Glance

Geography

Located to the southeast of Mainland China adjoining the province of Guangdong, with the Pearl River delta to the west and the South China Sea to the east, Hong Kong covers 1,104 sq km, 40% of which is country park and nature reserves. It consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which includes 262 outlying islands. Less than 25% of Hong Kong land is developed.

Climate

With a subtropical climate, temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in winter and top 31 degrees Celsius in summer. It is hot, humid and rainy from spring to summer, cool and dry in winter, and warm, sunny and dry in autumn. Average annual rainfall is 2,180 mm, and the driest month is January.

People

At the start of 2012, Hong Kong was home to approximately 7.1 million residents, with a population density of 6,480 people per sq km. Roughly 95% of Hong Kongers are ethnic Chinese, though there are also substantial numbers of Indonesians (148,000), Filipinos (141,000) and Thais (28,000).

Language

Cantonese, Mandarin and English are the official spoken languages of Hong Kong, while Chinese (traditional) and English are the official written languages. English is the language of legal, finance and business sectors. Cantonese speakers make up 89% of the population, Putonghua speakers 1.1%, other Chinese dialect speakers 5.8%, English speakers 3.1% and other language speakers 1.3%.

Economy

Hong Kong is the world’s 11th largest trading economy, with free trade, low taxation and mostly minimum government intervention. The economy is largely service-based and increasingly closely integrated with Mainland China. For 2011, GDP per capita was US$49,800, with a labour force of 3.7 million. The currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HKD or HK$).

Government

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, following the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. The HKSAR’s constitutional document, the Basic Law, ensures that the current political situation will remain in effect for 50 years. The rights of people in Hong Kong are based on the impartial rule of law and an independent judiciary, while the Head of Government is the Chief Executive (the current holder is Leung Chun-ying), who oversees the semi-elected 60-seat Legislative Council.

Religion

There are a large number of religious groups in Hong Kong, including Buddhists and Taoists (700,000), Catholics (355,000), Protestants (320,000), Muslims (90,000), Hindus (40,000) and Sikhs (10,000), as well as a small Jewish community. Places of worship for all of the above can be found across the city.

Hong Kong’s STORIED PAST

As the walk-through exhibition at the Museum of History (100 Chatham Road South, 2724 9042; www.hk.history.museum) attests to the fact that Hong Kong has a long past—from prehistoric to Imperial Chinese to British, all creating the thriving modern-day metropolis we see today.

According to archaeological studies, humans have lived in the area from around 35,000 to 39,000 years ago (interestingly, they chose to first settle in Chek Lap Kok, the site of the current airport). However, it was not until the Bronze Age (3000–700 BC) that a large influx of people moved into the area, as shown by the stone carvings that still can be seen across the territory, including examples on Po Toi Island, Cheung Chau and Big Wave Bay on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. In 111 BC, what is now known as Guangdong was conquered by the forces of Emperor Wu of Han, thus establishing control of the Han Dynasty over the area. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum (41 Tonkin Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, 2386 2863; www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/en/lcuht.php) in Sham Shui Po is a burial tomb dating from the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220).

The Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties followed, as did Portuguese traders in the early 1500s, who temporarily occupied a fort in Tuen Mun. In 1699, the first British traders arrived in the form of the British East India Company. By 1711, the company had established a trading post in Canton (Guangzhou), where it continued to import its most sought-after item—opium—for the next 100 years. By 1839, Chinese addiction to the drug has become such that an Imperial Chinese commissioner named Lin Zexu appealed to Britain’s Queen Victoria to end the debilitating trade. That same year, he confiscated 1.2 million kg of opium from Western traders and threw it into the sea, an act that led directly to the First Opium War (1839–42).

After the Chinese suffered heavy defeats, they were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong Island to the British in perpetuity. The Second Opium War (1856–8) led to the ceding of the Kowloon Peninsula, then in 1898 the New Territories were occupied under a 99-year lease.

The initial growth of Hong Kong in the early 20th century was slow but steady as the British set about building a colony, introducing electricity, public transport, education and health systems as well as British-led trading, banking and financial sectors. However, a storm was brewing. On 8 December 1941, eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Imperial Japanese army invaded Hong Kong. After a short but fierce fight, the British forces surrendered on Christmas Day. For the next 44 months of occupation, the colony suffered great hardship, and by the time liberation came in 1945, the city’s population had dropped to 600,000 from its pre-war level of 1.6 million.

However, the colony underwent a post-war boom in manufacturing, as the Civil War in China drove many Shanghai textile tycoons to set up business in Hong Kong. As the economy sped up, the ‘Made in Hong Kong’ label became known in clothing shops worldwide. Over the next few decades, the colony gradually made the shift to a service-based economy, which led to some of the highest rates for literary, life expectancy and income in the world. However, uncertainty reigned following the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, which declared that the entire territory (even though Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had been ceded in perpetuity) would be returned to China on 30 June 1997, when the 99-lease for the New Territories ran out.

Despite the fact that the pact stated the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, and Deng Xiaoping himself had promised 50 years of no change, many Hong Kongers, fearing the worst, emigrated to countries such as Canada, Australia and the UK. However, most misgivings have proven unfounded, as the Special Administrative Region has largely been left alone by the national government in Beijing.

While there have been wobbles, most notably during 2003, a year that saw the outbreak of SARS, and a march on 1 July against the proposed introduction of controversial anti-subversion legislation, which one in ten residents took part in, the city has continued its remarkable growth, becoming ‘Asia’s World City’, as the current government slogan goes.

The Hong Kong Travel Pack

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Full of up-to-date, thoroughly researched information written by locals, the Tuttle series of Travel Packs are