www.thepeak.com.hk
Opening Times Daily 7 am–midnight
Address Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus, Central
Getting There From Central MTR Station, take exit J2. Turn right through Chater Garden, cross Queen's Road Central and walk up Garden Road. Or board the Peak Tram shuttle bus No. 15C at the Central (Near Star Ferry Pier 8) Bus Terminus
Contact +852 2522 0922; [email protected]; www.thepeak.com.hk
Admission Fee Adult: $40 return, $28 single. Child (age 3–11): $18 return, $11 single
3 The Mid-Levels Escalator
Soak up the sounds and sights from this walkway
Carving its way down the Mid-Levels hillside like a dragon winding its way to the sea (an apt comparison in feng shui-obsessed Hong Kong), this 800-m-long engineering marvel is possibly the planet’s only commuter escalator. Although not one continuous stretch (it’s actually a connecting series of 20 escalators and three moving walkways), it’s been listed by the Guinness World Records as the ‘Longest Outdoor Covered Escalator System’ since its opening in 1993, and has been immortalized on the big screen in the 1997 movie Chinese Box starring Jeremy Irons and Gong Li, and the 2008 Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. Conceived by the Hong Kong Government as an innovative solution to the area’s worsening traffic congestion, the project was criticized upon completion for being far over budget, and ineffective at its stated purpose of reducing vehicles on the roads. However, the unintended side effect of opening up these previously difficult-to-reach neigh-bourhoods was a boom in local residential property prices and the creation of two new entertainment districts, NoHo and SoHo. Standing for North and South of Hollywood Road respectively (the government initially tried, unsuccessfully, to label the district as the banal ‘Mid-Levels Themed Dining Area’ to avoid the negative connotations of Soho in London), these areas are now home to a diverse array of bars, restaurants, shops and galleries. As it is possible to exit the system on every street it crosses, it has become popular in the evening for commuters to ‘step off’ for dinner or drinks on their way home. Sadly, there is an ongoing struggle between residents seeking to retain the area’s distinctive character and property developers seeking to take advantage of the influx of money. Taking approximately 20 minutes to walk from top to bottom, the escalator runs downhill from 6 am to 10 am and uphill from 10.30 am to midnight.
See: www.ilovesoho.hk
Opening Times Runs one-way downhill 6 am– 10 am, uphill 10 am–midnight, daily
Address Starts at Des Voeux Road Central, ends at Conduit Road
Getting There Central MTR, Exit D1, walk along Queen's Road Central to the start
Contact Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor Hotline: +852 2508 1234 (9 am–6 pm, daily); www.discoverhongkong.com
Admission Fee Free
4 The Lantau Big Buddha
Find inner peace and a stunning new perspective
Thought its status is disputed, Tian Tan Buddha, or Big Buddha, is still declared to be the world’s ‘largest seated outdoor bronze statue of Buddha’. Weighing 250 metric tons and seated at the top of 268 steps, the 35-m-tall Tian Tan looms over Ngong Ping, a high plateau on Lantau Island to the west of Hong Kong. Though only constructed in 1993, it has quickly become the most recognizable symbol of the Po Lin Monastery, a Buddhist retreat built in 1920. Back then, monks, pilgrims and visitors could only access the holy site via a long hike after a lengthy boat ride from the more populous parts of the territory. These days, however, you need only work up a sweat queueing for the Ngong Ping 360, a 5.7-km-long cable car that whisks the public from sea level to the mountain top in just 25 minutes. Beginning from Tung Chung, a new town being developed on Lantau’s northern shore, the gondola crosses green hills and has scenic views of the Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok) to the north and the Lantau North Country Park to the west and south. Wildlife exists in abundance here, with Black and Red Kites (indigenous birds of prey) soaring high on thermals above, and the occasional pack of wild dogs or herd of wandering cows sometimes seen on the slopes below. Passengers have a choice between Standard and Crystal Cabins, with a corresponding price hike, though the only actual difference is a glass bottom floor in the latter. For those without a head for heights, Ngong Ping can also be reached by a one-hour bus journey, which also starts at Tung Chung. Despite the area’s commercialization—the Ngong Ping Village includes the less than inspirational ‘Walking with Buddha’ and ‘Monkey’s Tale Theatre’ attractions—Hong Kong’s record-breaking Big Buddha still offers visitors fleeting moments of serenity.
See: www.np360.com.hk
Opening Times Daily 10 am–5.30 pm
Address Po Lin Monastery, Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, New Territories
Getting There Take Lantau Bus No. 23 at the bus station outside Tung Chung MTR Station to Ngong Ping Bus Terminus; take Ngong Ping Cable Car at the Cable Car Station outside Tung Chung MTR Station; take First Ferry from Central Pier to Mui Wo, and take Lantau Bus No. 2 to Ngong Ping Bus Terminus
Contact +852 2985 5248; [email protected], plm. org.hk (Po Lin Monastery); +852 3666 0606, [email protected]; www.np360.com.hk (Ngong Ping 360)
Admission Fee Po Lin Monastery free; Ngong Ping 360 Adult: $125 return, $86 single. Child (age 3–11): $62 return, $44 single
5 Kowloon’s Temple Street
Shop, dine and watch opera at this evening market
Squeezed between the old Kowloon districts of Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, Temple Street is most famous for two things: fashion and food. Sometimes labelled as Men’s Street to differentiate it from Ladies Street further to the north in Prince Edward, the shop and restaurant-filled thoroughfare is named after the Qing Dynasty-era temple to Tin Hau that sits towards its northern end. While it may seem odd to have a place of worship devoted to the Goddess of the Sea so far from the water, in fact the shoreline used to be only a stone’s throw from here, but numerous land reclamations since have put the harbour almost 1 km away to the west. While the Cantonese Opera performances at the stage next to the temple draw small audiences, tourists really flock to the area for the night market (open daily), when the narrow road is occupied on both sides by tiny stalls selling everything from ‘I’m Lost in Hong Kong’ T-shirts and kitsch Chairman Mao souvenirs to DVDs, phones, watches and all types of fashion. And that’s not all; behind the many stalls lie rows of shops selling the same, where better bargains can often be found. While there is certainly good shopping here (just make sure you’re prepared to haggle and don’t be afraid to walk away if they won’t match your price), the most fun to be had is arguably pulling up a plastic stool at one of the many restaurants that line the street and enjoying a fine meal of Cantonese cuisine while people-watching. One of the most popular establishments is Temple Street Spicy Crab, located at the southern end closest
