Things to see and do Hong Kong Island 香港岛

In the heart of the skylines, close to the harbour, this large 17 hectare park offers pleasant walks along the banks, an Olympic swimming pool, tennis courts and jogging trails. This is one of the appointments of Tai-chi enthusiasts. It also attracts many of Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year (Flower Market) or the Mid-autumn festival.

Built by the Hakka at the beginning of the th century on a granite promontory dominated by the bay, this temple dedicated to the goddess of the Sea Tin Hau now overlooks the tram line. Up to 24 temples are devoted to Tin Hau across the territory.

Only genuine Disneyland Park competitors, Ocean Park and its cable car enjoy a splendid view on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. You can spend an entire day visiting the various attractions of the park. Advice to the marine world: Aqua City is the organ of the place. Recreating a whole aquatic microcosm, it is worth a detour. In the Grand Aquarium, there are more than 5 000 fish of 400 different species! We start on the surface before getting into the abyss. Wonder and chills guaranteed!

A aviary and pandas are also hosted on site. The 72 m high Park Tower offers a sumptuous view. Games, entertainment and attractions are especially designed for younger people, while some thrills with thrills will even leave the adults stunned. Once dark, Symbio, a show and light on the theme of the oceans, is beauty subjugating. You will have understood it: Ocean Park promises a family-friendly and friendly visit to the hotel.

Here are 10 hectares of green in the middle of the center. Inaugurated in 1991, the facilities include a small plastic centre (the HK Visual Arts Centre), a greenhouse with a wet tropical forest and a net aviary (the Edward Youde Went, open daily from 9 h to 17 h, free of charge, to see absolutely). At the heart of this tropical vegetation, admire beautiful birds from Southeast Asia and Indonesia. This exciting walk allows you to discover parrots with bright red lights, yellow originating in the Moluccas, and other varieties originating in Borneo. Not far away, we walk in the midst of huge cages that keep gibbons and other monkeys. There are also lovely lemurs who came straight from Madagascar.

This 800 m mechanical staircase made up of 20 sections is the longest escalator covered outside the world. He is nicknamed the "glass snake". Completed in 1993 (at a cost of HK $ 245 million), it drains more than 200 000 pedestrians every day through narrow and wandering streets that wind towards Mid-Levels hills. Beginner at Greetings Road, he passes over Cochrane Street and crosses Hollywood Road and Soho district, to Drive Road.

Completed in 1990 and rewarded with numerous international awards, this 70-storey structure and 367 m high is the work of Sino-American Ieoh Ming Pei (the author of the Louvre Pyramid). It evokes a pousse of bamboo climbing towards light. Climb on the 43rd floor to admire the view of Central and Kowloon.

This Taoist temple, one of the oldest in the island, is dedicated to two deities: Man, God of literature, and Mo, God of war better known as Guanyu. The latter is also the protector of restaurants, loan shops, the police… and Triades. Both gods were venerated by students and officials before their exams during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Let yourself be impregnated by the thick smoke flowing from the incense waves, some of which are so large that they burn for four weeks. We love the atmosphere that comes out of the place. Note, however, that there are several Man Mo temples in Hong Kong and that this one is the most famous (and most popular) of them.

Located inside Hong Kong Park, this charming museum is housed in the oldest colonial house in the territory, the Flagstaff House, built in 1846. She remained the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces until 1978. The permanent exhibition with tea theme shows an extraordinary collection of more than 600 teapots and objects dedicated to the tea ceremony. They date back to the West Pentecostal dynasty (1050-771 BC). We discover the different methods of preparing tea through ages. In the museum's small shop, tiny teapots, copies of old teapots and beautiful creations of contemporary artists are on sale, as well as art books on tea.

Opened in 1864 near the Hong Kong Park, on the other side of Garden Road, it brings together, among other things, a wrought iron bandstand, an astonishing greenhouse, aviaries (ibis, flamingos pink…), and cages enclosing different species of monkeys, including large orang-utans. The Zoo section was added in 1975. A green corner in the urban jungle, it is one of the favourite places of taï-chi enthusiasts. They come here early in the morning to exercise the movements of shadow boxing.

To the north-west, near the Chinese border, is an ideal observation point for amateur ornithologists. They will be able to study some 300 species of birds that call each year in these marshes, placed under high protection. The 300 ha of May Po Marshes consist of shallow ponds and dwarf mangrove. In addition to birds, some reptiles were elected on the reserve: the common snake, the Bennett's water snake and Chinese cobra, 1,50 m long, usually nocturnal animals, but it is not impossible to see them during the day. The venom of Chinese cobra is fatal to man.

To access the reserve, contact WWF (Tel (852)) 25264473) to obtain a permit. WWF organises visits on Saturday afternoon and has an office (May Po Marshes can be reached by bus or taxi departing from Sheung Shui on the KCR line).

A visit that is worth a visit. Set in a traditional village, the 500-year-old temple was founded by the Tang family. Nowadays, every member of the village still bears the same name. It is one of the most important clans in the New Territories. There are tablets dedicated to every ancestor, including that of Wong Kuwu, a princess of the Song Dynasty fleeing Mongolian troops in the th century. One of Tang's ancestors passed the mandarinal exam and was designated as an official at the Imperial Court. The site still hosts meetings (one pays tribute to the ancestors) according to Confucian morality. Once only men were accepted on the premises.

The village of Lei Yue Mun is a former lair of pirates and smugglers, partly built on piles. Situated on the seafront, this village has become a must for fish and seafood lovers. Here you can stroll between the stalls of the market, choose fish and seafood and bring them to a restaurant for cooking at its convenience. Lei Yue Mun has been able to preserve the atmosphere a little villains of the small fisherman villages of Hong Kong's past.

A minute walk on the hills summit leads you to the entrance to the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club, the course of which extends throughout the peninsula. The club also features a swimming pool (open from April to November) as well as tennis, badminton and squash courts.

The largest of Clearwater Bay. It is supervised by nageurs, and equipped with cabins to change, a few restaurants of restaurants to feed and water games for children. Rames boats can be rented there, and the waters of the protected bay are generally very calm. The site is charming, even the days of great attendance in summer.

It includes trees with plaques indicating the names of species and few rare plants. At May Po Marsh (a bird sanctuary in the northwest near the Chinese border), cormorants can easily be seen during winter, but it is much more difficult to see the leopard cat. It's May Po that you find the most beautiful mangroves of the entire south coast of China with large mud beaches where crabs abound.

There are three main hiking trails in the territory. The Mac Lehose Trail is certainly the most famous. It crosses the New Territories separately over 100 km. The Mac Lehose has become a real event in Hong Kong. Each year, in October, teams of four participants, who have been involved for months, compete in this race, the most famous Hong Kong. It is also a symbol of solidarity: the team must arrive complete under disqualification. For the normal hiker, you must take at least one week to browse it in its entirety. The various sectors are most often accessible by public transport. Get the trail maps, for sale at the government publications centre. Some are distributed free of charge in LTD tourism offices. The Hong Kong Trail Island Trail and the Lantau Trail trail are also very popular.