Hong Kong - The Other Hong Kong

Fascinating places visitors rarely see

(photos of 2005-2009)

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Lantau Island

Most visitors to Hong Kong are not aware of its quaint fishing villages from another era, its many beautiful beaches and its huge green country parks with endless hiking trails. Many of these are easily accessible by ferry boat and/or bus, while some require a good hike that yields more solitude. These destinations are ideal to escape the pressure-cooker atmosphere of central Hong Kong.

Lantau (Wikipedia) is Hong Kong's largest island. Most visitors see its northern side as they travel between airport and city, and some visit Disneyland along one of its eastern bays. But very few visit its remarkable old fishing village of Tai O (map, Wikipedia). It is largely built on stilts over tidal water, and many of its tiny houses have metal walls for fire safety.

Lantau Island offers endless hiking options and many great beaches. The next four panoramas show, respectively, the view toward Hong Kong Island from near Mui Wo (map), the beach of Chi Ma Wan (map), and two views of Hong Kong's longest beach, Cheung Sha (map).

Sai Kung Peninsula and Country Park

To the east of the Northern Territories (which stretch from Kowloon to the mainland Chinese border) we find a vast and little populated peninsula with a wide range of hiking trails and beaches. Sai Kung Peninsula (map, Wikipedia) is served by buses, while some of its more remote beaches are reached by walking at least another hour.

The following panoramas show four of those remote beaches -- Sai Wan Beach (map), Ham Tin Wan Beach (map), Tai Wan Beach (map), and Tung Wan Beach (map), respectively.

Tap Mun Chau

North of Sai Kung Peninsula is Tap Mun Chau or Grass Island (map, Wikipedia), from the top of which we get a superb 360 degree view. The more distant hills in the left half of this panorama lie in mainland China.

Most fishing villages have their temple devoted to the sea goddess Tin Hau, where fishermen and their families seek good fortune. The temple shown here is in Kau Sai (map), a tiny village in a well-sheltered passage between two islands.

Wild monkeys

Amazingly, wild monkeys can be found within a half hour of the Hong Kong subway. Indeed, a 10-minute taxi ride from Kowloon Tong's MTR station leads to Lion Rock Country Park or Kam Shan Country Park where colonies of wild monkeys live (map).