Sightseeing     18 Districts and Attractions     Hong Kong Walks

Lantau Island Tung Chung Valley - In the Shadow of the Buddha

Makes shopping for Chinese dried seafood, Chinese medicines, antiques and curios a breeze.

Western Market
Built in 1906, this elegant four-storey, red brick building was declared a historic monument by the Hong Kong Government in 1990 before being renovated and reopened as a Chinese arts-and-crafts centre in 1991. Open daily 10am to 7pm.

Wing Lok Street (commonly known as Ginseng and Bird's Nest Street)
Wing Lok Street, Bonham Strand and Bonham Strand West feature a number of fascinating ginseng and bird's nest shops.

Des Voeux Road West (commonly known as Dried Seafood Street)
Exotic dried seafood from all around the world, including such rare and expensive items as abalone, can be found in the Des Voeux Road West area.

Bonham Strand West (commonly known as Nam Pak Hong Street)
Bonham Strand West was built on newly reclaimed land in Sheung Wan in 1849. Merchants from different Mainland Chinese provinces such as Fujian and Shandong, and from cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai opened stores selling specialty goods and groceries from all over Southeast Asia and Mainland China.

Hollywood Road
Famous for its curio and antique shops, Hollywood Road is the perfect place to find wood-block prints, china, porcelain, Buddha statues, ikebana baskets from Japan, snuff and perfume bottles, Chinese furniture and a host of other items.

Upper Lascar Row (commonly known as Cat Street)
Famous for its array of antiques, curios and collectibles, Upper Lascar Row, also known as Cat Street, features a wide range of goods to delight shoppers.

Man Mo Temple
One of the first traditional-style temples built during the colonial era, Man Mo Temple's magnificent external architecture reflects its historical roots. Gold altars and red shrines pay homage to the Taoist gods of literature (Man) and war (Mo) - Man with his calligraphy brush and Mo with his sword.

The Central - Mid-Levels Escalator
The world's longest covered escalator is 800m long and links Central district with Conduit Road in the Mid-Levels. Opened to the public on 15 October 1994, the Escalator runs downhill from 6am to 10am and uphill from 10:30am to midnight.

SoHo (South of Hollywood Road) Theme Dining Area
Some of the finest restaurants in town offering a dazzling variety of international cuisine line Staunton, Shelley, Peel, Old Bailey and Elgin streets, making it a highly popular area for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

Central Police Station
This huge, grey building with its Doric-style columns and facade was built in 1864 and stands as mute testimony to Hong Kong's colonial heritage.

Gage Street
Billows of steam rise from an array of stalls where the best of Hong Kong-style fragrant soups, noodles, herbal teas and pastries are all served outdoors with a big Hong Kong smile.

Lyndhurst Terrace
Shops selling ancient maps, prints and paintings, stationery and picture frames rub shoulders with beauty salons and spas. Walk further and you'll find linens, fine silks, crafts and antiques for sale.

Li Yuen Streets East and West
These compact, narrow alleys packed with stalls and shops selling casual wear, leatherwear and knick-knacks to local housewives, visitors and Central commuters are great spots to go bargain hunting. Open daily about 10am to 7pm.

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden
Birds are prized and pampered pets for many Hong Kong men, who flock here to chat with their friends while their pets warble from cages hung in the trees. Open daily from 7am to 8pm.

Flower Market
Specialist shops and sidewalk stalls display a multicoloured array of exotic blossoms and pot plants from all over the world. Open daily from about 7am to 7pm.

Goldfish Market
Iridescent, brightly coloured tropical fish and aquarium supplies, from coral to tank "furnishings" are on sale from about 10am to 6pm daily.

Ladies' Market
This is a great place to shop for bargain-priced clothes, beauty products and knick-knacks. Open daily from about noon to 10:30pm.

Tung Wah Museum
Originally part of a hospital, the Tung Wah Museum is an excellent example of traditional Chinese architecture. Open daily, except Sundays and public holidays, from 10am to 6pm.

Shanghai Street
Traditional Chinese products crowd storefronts and shelves with such goods as herbal tonics and dried seafood, embroidered items and paper products, traditional wedding buns (usually made with lotus seed paste) and 99 per cent pure gold merchandise (sold by the Chinese tael, not the ounce).

Jade Market
This is a fun place to browse and buy an inexpensive memento of your visit, but don't buy anything costly unless you know a lot about jade. Open from 9am to 6pm daily.

Tin Hau Temple
The Tin Hau Temple (dedicated to the Taoist Goddess of the Sea) on Public Square Street is a classic example of Chinese tradition and is typical of temples where Hong Kong's fishermen worship. Open daily from 8am to 6pm.

Temple Street Night Market
The Temple Street Night Market, open 4pm - midnight, is one of Hong Kong's most popular open-air markets.

Che Kung Temple
The temple was built in honour of Che Kung (General Che), a military hero who lived during the Sung dynasty (AD 960-1279). An 11-metre-high statue of Che Kung stands on the central altar. Beside the altar is a Wheel of Fortune - spin the wheel and your fortunes may improve! Open daily 7am to 6pm.

Tsang Tai Uk
Literally meaning Tsang's Big House, the dwelling was built by Tsang Koon Man in 1848. Constructed of granite, green brick and timber, this dwelling consists of three rows of houses all linked by passages and small courtyards.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum
The five-storey Hong Kong Heritage Museum features a traditional Chinese courtyard design and Chinese-style roofs, and the museum's 12 galleries feature permanent and temporary exhibitions covering history, arts and culture. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Sha Tin Park
The lush eight-hectare Sha Tin Park, featuring many varieties of trees and shrubs, comprises six separate gardens. Open daily from 7am to 10:45pm.

Sha Tin Town Hall
Depending on the time of the year, you can watch world-class ballet, listen to international orchestras in the auditorium, view a painting exhibition in the gallery or sculptures displayed in the podium outside the hall.

New Town Plaza
New Town Plaza offers a comprehensive range of shopping, recreational and entertainment facilities, as well as residential blocks, an office building, hotel and six mini-cinemas.

Snoopy's World
Snoopy's World features six amusement zones: Snoopy's House, Peanuts Academy, Canoe Ride, Peanuts Dugout, Peanuts Boulevard and Party Pavilion. Open daily 10am to 8pm. Free admission.

Praya Street
Along the waterfront, seafood is dried in the sun and fishmongers sell fresh shellfish and seafood in shops and restaurants.

Pak Tai Temple
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival (usually in April or May) features huge towers covered with buns erected in front of the Pak Tai Temple and a street procession in which costumed children appear to float above the crowds, supported by hidden rods and wires. Pak Tai Temple is open daily 9am to 5pm.


Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Fourth Moon, Day 8 (April/May)
A celebration dominated by sweet buns is quite a spectacle, and it is one not to be missed. Every year on the tiny island of Cheung Chau, Hong Kong's people celebrate the Bun Festival. Enormous bamboo towers studded with sweet bun and effigies of three gods dominate the grounds near the Pak Tai Temple, where the main festivities take place. The festival that lasts for about a week climaxes with a large, colourful street procession, which features costumed children on stilts in a carnival atmosphere that winds its way through the streets.

Pak She Street and San Hing Street
Stroll along these streets past rebuilt blocks and modern shops and you will see people still practising traditional trades - baking lotus-seed cakes, dispensing herbal medicine or manufacturing and selling Cheung Chau's famed, pungent, purplish-brown shrimp paste.

Tung Wan
Tung Wan , a popular public beach, is where Hong Kong's first Olympic Games gold medallist, Lee Lai-shan, practised windsurfing as a schoolgirl.

Kwan Kung Pavilion
The colourful Kwan Kung Pavilion is a gilded, lacquered temple dedicated to Kwan Tai, the Taoist God of War and Righteousness.

Yung Shue Wan
Walking the narrow streets, you'll see shops and restaurants that reflect a mixed heritage: stalls with dried fish, shops selling hi-tech appliances and outlets that look as if they've been established by latter-day hippies.

Tin Hau Temple
Such temples are typical of Hong Kong's coastal communities because Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea, protects fishermen.

Hung Shing Yeh Beach
You may wish to relax here and swim. The water is pleasant, so why not join the locals for a dip?

Pavilion
Here you may wish to rest and enjoy views over Lamma and islands such as Cheung Chau and Lantau.

Lo So Shing Beach
During the Tang dynasty (7th-10th Century AD), this was also the centre of a local industry - baking seashells to make lime.

Sok Kwu Wan
As you'll see, seafood restaurants dominate Sok Kwu Wan. They mostly serve people arriving on pleasure junks but are also wonderful places for a meal after a walk.

Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery
The walk starts near the 26-metre-high Giant Buddha at Ngong Ping, the world's largest, seated, outdoor bronze Buddha statue. The nearby Po Lin Monastery is open daily 10am to 5:30pm.

Lo Hon Temple
Lo Hon Temple, built by lay Buddhists in 1974, occupies the site of a grotto named Lo Hon Cavern where a hermit from Guangdong practised Buddhism in 1926.

Tung Chung Fort
Tung Chung Fort was built in the early 19th Century as part of a short-lived attempt to suppress the opium trade and defend the coastal area from pirates.

Tung Chung Town Centre
Tung Chung Town Centre features a variety of shops, restaurants, a cinema and entertainment facilities, as well as transportation back to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island.

Across the road from the Peak Tower is an historic building, which dates from 1901 and is now a restaurant. It was originally used by sedan chair bearers who carried people between the station and fine residences on The Peak.

The trees on your right give way to scrub, and there are fantastic views over the city and harbour; this is a great place to appreciate the city at night.

Keep an eye out for a great banyan tree that is more like a colony of trees, its thinner trunks formed by aerial roots that have reached the ground, while other roots dangle in space like unkempt, shaggy hair.

The hills above and below are thickly wooded and the city is lost from view. You cross a bridge over a small ravine, with a small picturesque waterfall on your left.

This is a good place to stop, and look out over the larger Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir. Completed in 1917, this is the largest of the island's reservoirs.