Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Hong Kong:
Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade: also known as TST, it provides great views of the Victoria Harbor and the Hong Kong skyline. We took a stroll during the day along the Avenue of the Stars viewing statues of producers, camera people, and others working in the film industry to represent Hong Kong’s history of movie making. We were also walking along the promenade at night and viewed the Symphony of Lights, a laser and light show projected on top of the buildings.
Ten Thousand Buddhist Monastery: many Buddha statues lined the walkway entrance of this monastery leading to a red pagoda. There are a total of 12,800 statues!
Hong Kong Heritage Museum: the museum contained impressive costumes and stage sets of Cantonese Opera. There was also an exhibition on the heritage of the New Territories, the northern area of Hong Kong, which featured replicas of traditional villages.
Po Lin Monastery: unfortunately, the cable car up to this temple complex was closed the day we decided to go up, but we made it up in bus. The main feature of the complex is the giant Buddha statue on top of the hill with great views of the city.
Tai O Village: one of Hong Kong’s oldest fishing villages with wood stilt houses. We took a short boat ride to get better views of the stilt houses and to look for the famous pink dolphins that spend time off the shores of this relaxing village. Unfortunately, we did not find any pink dolphins.
Star Ferry: we took this ferry a couple times from the Kowloon side of Hong Kong into the main island. A great bargain with great close-up views of the skyline and the Victoria Harbor.
Victoria Peak: the Peak Tram took us up to this high point in Hong Kong to have spectacular views of the Victoria Harbor and the skyline. We made it there at sunset and stayed to see the city lit up at night.
Temple Street Night Market: this bazaar had everything from electronics to fortune tellers!
Hong Kong Cultural Center: we were fortunate that our visit coincided with a Cantonese Opera Festival and attended the cultural center to view Tianjin Peking Opera Theater, a type of Cantonese Opera. We enjoyed our sub-titled, three-hour long show full of drama, aerobics, and of course opera.
Ping Shan Heritage Trail: this heritage trail located in the New Territories passed by the Tang Ancestral House, Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery inside an old police station, and a walled village. These were all built by the Tang Clan, a powerful clan who settled in the New Territories around the 11th century.
Hong Kong Museum of History: this museum is very well put together, walking you through Hong Kong’s past to present. The exhibit starts with prehistoric times, shows artifacts that were found, early inhabitants customs, conquering period by foreigners, the development of its urban culture, and the hand over back to China.
Public Transportation: Hong Kong has one of the best public transportation systems in the world and it shows. The system is efficient, easy to navigate, and relatively inexpensive. We had the opportunity to ride on buses, double-decker buses, mini-buses, subway trains, trams, and ferry. The only mode of transport we did not ride on was the double-decker trams.
