What can I do in Hong Kong?

(aside from visiting the CUHK GW-group for studLife-changingying physics and doing research)

It is easy to combine some of the activities listed below to fill in half a day or a full day. For example, one may start with a breakfast/brunch/lunch at the Australia Dairy Company, and walk through the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and Flower Market, all the way down to Tsim Sha Tsui. There, one can stroll along the Avenue of Stars, and visit the Art Museum or the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Then, the Star Ferry lets one reach Central and explore the Stone Slab Street, Cat Street, the Man Mo Temple and/or Admiralty, before finishing the day with the evening/night view over Hong Kong offered by the Victoria Peak (see the cover picture).

List of activities

Near Mong Kok & Kowloon

  1. Eat breakfast/lunch at the Australia Dairy Company (Google Maps). A long time favourite from the group. Some have called it “life-changing”.
  2. Stroll around in Kowloon Walled City Park (where the Kowloon Walled City was standing) (Google Maps). There are also many Thai restaurants around.
  3. Explore Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and Flower Market (Google Maps).

Near Tsim Sha Tsui (TST)

  1. Walk the Avenue of Stars (Google Maps).
  2. Visit the Art Museum (free of charge) (Google Maps). The museum usually has a series of temporary exhibitions. If you go, do not miss the collection of tiny delicate Chinese snuff bottles on the third floor.
  3. Hong Kong Cultural Center (Google Maps).
  4. Dine at Din Fai Tung (Google Maps).
  5. See (real) monkeys at the Monkey mountain.
  6. Hike the Eagle’s Nest Nature Trail (Google Maps).

On Hong Kong Island

  1. Admire the view from Victoria Peak. You can go there via a tram (Google Maps) or by hiking. The easiest is probably to buy the tram tickets online and take a combo ticket, which allows you to access to the top terrace to better see the view. The Peak Lookout (Google Maps) is a nice restaurant where to have a lunch/break/dinner at the peak.
  2. Take the ferry between Tsim Sha Tsui (Google Maps) and Central (Google Maps). The Octopus transit card can be used to pay for the trip.
  3. Walk around Cat Street (Google Maps) and the Stone Slab Street (Google Maps). You may halt at the Man Mo Temple (Google Maps) between the two.

In the New Territories

  1. Pray at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery (Google Maps). It is close the Sha Tin MTR station and from CUHK. It requires to walk a short, but steep path up, and the entrance is not obvious, but the view on Sha Tin is pretty and the place is peaceful. You may encounter monkeys on the way.
  2. Take a boat tour in Sai Kung and eat seafood nearby. If you take a ferry boat to Sharp Island, you can go on a short (2 hours) trail, and explore the surroundings. Round-trip ferry tickets can be bought at the pier. Be sure to keep the ticket for coming back. You may only use ferries from the company you bought the tickets from.

Cover photo by Andrew Jephson.