Bird
Market
Hong Lok St, Mongkok, Kowloon
This street market specializing
in birds, singing crickets and intricate cages gives a glimpse into the
traditional Chinese way of life.
Cheung Chau Island
Cheung Chau
This little island offers
walks, temples and traditional fishing villages, as well as markets and
seafront, seafood restaurants.
Museum of Art -
Hong Kong Cultural Centre,
Salisbury Rd, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Art Museum featuring Calligraphy,
scrolls and colonial-era art, as well as an excellent, well-presented collection
of Chinese antiquities.
The Peak
The Peak, Hong Kong Island
Take the little funicular
railway up this 550-metre hill for superb views over Hong Kong harbour.
The ultimate Hong Kong experience: A ride on one of the world’s steepest
cable cars up to Victoria Peak, atop which you will have a 360-degree view
of Hong Kong Island. Magical at dusk.
Wong Tai Sin Temple -
Taoist temple
Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon
Huge, colorful Taoist temple
dedicated to a god of healing. A constant throng of petitioners and
fortunetellers.
Ocean Park
On the south side of Hong
Kong Island, near Aberdeen.
Ocean Park Road
2873-8888
An amusement park where
a cable car takes you to the best rides: the Dragon roller coaster, the
Octopus and the Crazy Galleon. Or you may enjoy the Raging River, a lovely
cruise on a sturdy boat. Ocean Park also contains the Shark Aquarium, the
Japanese Garden for relaxing and the Ocean Theatre, where killer whales,
seals and dolphins act out high-quality drama.
Government House
Central, on Upper Albert
Road
The Government House is
the official residence of the governor of Hong Kong under British rule.
The tower was added during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World
War II. The Chief Executive of the SAR (Special Administrative Region)
has elected not to live in the building.
Hong Kong Museum of History
Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui,
2367-1124
A historical overview of
the city, focusing on pirates, wars, economic growth and hardships.
Also an excellent collection of local photographs from the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.
Botanical Gardens
Albany Road
Hong Kong
2530-0154.
The Botanic Gardens are
also above Central, but to the west. Lively monkeys and
orangutans enjoy watching
their visitors.
Space Museum
Salisbury Road
Hong Kong
2734-2722
The Space Museum is the
massive white dome in Tsim Sha Tsui, a short walk
from the Star Ferry.
It’s in three parts: planetarium, Exhibition Hall and Hall of Solar Sciences.
Short films run in the theater.
Middle Kingdom
2555-3554
Middle Kingdom offers replicas
of temples, pagodas and street scenes, as well as exhibits and demonstration
stalls. Get your name written in Chinese characters and see the Lion Dance
in front of you!
St. John’s Cathedral
On Garden Road
Central, Hong Kong
St. John’s Cathedral is
a handsome building, the oldest Anglican church in East Asia. It
was constructed in1849.
Tsui Museum of Art
2A Des Voeux Rd.
Central, Hong Kong
2868-2688.
Rotating exhibitions drawn
from its collection of more than 3,000 Chinese antiquities, predominantly
Chinese ceramics.
Tiger Balm Gardens
Located off Tai Hang Roadnear
Causeway Bay
There’s a surreal ambience
to this place. It’s a collection of statues and models and a pagoda, showing
mostly scenes from Chinese mythology.
Water World
Ocean Park Road
Aberdeen, Hong Kong
2555-6055
Contains water slides (you
plunge down at 28 mph/45 kph), a wave pool, the Lazy River and a children’s
area for those under age 6.
Hong Kong Science Museum
2 Science Museum Rd
Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon
2732-3232.
Hands-on exhibits that will
interest adults as well as children.
The Ngong Ping Tea Gardens
Located above Po Lin Monastery
on Lantau Island
This is Hong Kong’s only
tea plantation. It’s on top of a mountain with only one road up and down.
It offers horseback riding, barbecue pits and a roller-skating rink. The
ferry for Lantau Island leaves from the Outlying Islands Ferry Pier, west
of the Star Ferry terminal in Central. On the island, directions to the
Tea Gardens are available at the ferry pier.
Temple of 10,000 Buddha’s
Above Shatin railway station
(go by Kowloon Canton Railway).
The Temples of 10,000 Buddha’s
requires that you be able to climb 431 steps, but
the reward is not merely 10,000, but 12,800 statues of Buddha. A
mummified
holy man embalmed in gold leaf is also on display inside.
University Museum and
Art Gallery
University of Hong Kong,
Bonham Road, phone 2859-2114.
Large collection of bronze
ware from the Yuan Dynasty as well as artifacts from the Warring States
Period and Indian Buddhist sculpture.
The Star Ferry
Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon)
and Central (Hong Kong side)
2366-2576
This is a must! The ferry
is a rare mix of the romantic and the practical. It takes you between Hong
Kong Island and Kowloon, and you may end up taking it every day of your
visit. En route, you’ll see the activity of the harbor close up, and the
journey always seems to pass too quickly.
Kat Hing Wai
Kam Tin
Kat Hing Wai also known
as Kam Tin Walled Village is the original 10th-century homestead of the
Tang clan, the first of the Cantonese “Five Great Clans” to migrate to
the New Territories from China. The village may be modern inside,
but it’s still surrounded by a moat and walls with four corner guardhouse
towers. Contributions to the donations box are expected, as are handouts
to the costumed Hake women before camera shutters can be pressed.
Hong Kong Arts Centre
Pao Galleries
2 Harbour Rd.
Wanchai
2582-0200
Hong Kong Arts Centre Pao
Galleries showcase for contemporary art, with major international and local
exhibitions of paintings, photography, crafts and design staged regularly.
Flagstaff House, Museum
of Tea Ware
Hong Kong Park
Central
2869-0690
Dr. K. S. Lo donated the
permanent collection of Chinese tea-drinking ware housed in this magnificent
old mansion. Even if the tea ware is not of particular interest to you,
Flagstaff House is well worth a visit to see some of Hong Kong’s remaining
19th-century architecture.
Lei Cheng Uk Branch Museum
41 Tonkin St., Sham Shui
Po,
Kowloon
2386-2863
Lei Cheng UK Branch Museum
is the Han Dynasty tomb dating back some 2,000 years, the oldest historical
monument in Hong Kong. Also a Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) exhibition
of dress.
