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Hong Kong Travel Guide
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| Hong Kong |
Hong
Kong is a place of contrasts -- geographically, socially
and economically. Although many Asian cities claim to be where
East meets West, the former British Crown Colony, whose largely
Chinese population was ruled by Europeans for 156 years, is
probably the closest the world comes to the genuine article.
Perched precariously on the edge of China, Hong Kong has been
battered by geopolitical forces for centuries. Thanks to its
strategic deepwater harbor and proximity to Asia's most populous
nation, the city profited as the capitalist gateway for the
communist giant to the north. What was once a fishing village
became one of the world's busiest international ports and
business centers.
Scratch the cosmopolitan, high-tech surface,
however, and you'll discover an old China lying just below
the city's modern urban facade and, in some cases, right
alongside it. Residents invariably live in two worlds: Skyscrapers
and enormous shopping malls sit next to narrow alleys crowded
with traditional vendors' stalls. Businesspeople use cell
phones to consult fortune-tellers before making important
decisions. Taoist priests exorcise evil spirits from buildings,
even from the city's racecourses. In sleepy walled villages,
farmers tend their crops in the same way they have for generations.
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| Hong Kong
Travels & Tours |
Temple of 10,000 Buddhas
You will have to climb 431 steps, but the reward is 12,800
statues of Buddha. The mummified body of the holy man who
founded the temple's monastery, embalmed in gold leaf, is
on display inside.
Ocean Park and Middle Kingdom
These are two adjoining amusement parks. Ocean Park features
rides, including a roller coaster and scenic cable car,
as well as a water park and marine displays. Don't miss
the Shark Aquarium and the huge Atoll Reef Aquarium. Middle
Kingdom is a living-history museum that charts 5,000 years
of Chinese civilization with replicas of temples, pagodas
and street scenes, as well as exhibits and demonstration
stalls. Traditional Chinese acrobats perform in the courtyard
in front of the giant Buddha statue or in the Empress Theater.
Hong Kong Park
With space at a premium, busy Central district has little
in the way of public parks. Hong Kong Park is a rare exception,
offering a magnificent aviary, a children's playground,
ponds, waterfalls, a small amphitheater and an open-air
restaurant.
The Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery
This is the world's largest outdoor seated Buddha (110 ft/34
m tall), built by the Chinese Space Agency and opened officially
in 1989. Work up an appetite by climbing the 268 steps to
the top of the Buddha and later have a vegetarian lunch
at the picturesque Po Lin Monastery.
Kat Hing Wai
Also known as Kam Tin Walled Village, this was the original
10th-century homestead of the Tang clan, the first of the
Cantonese Five Great Clans to migrate to the New Territories.
The village may be modern inside, but it's surrounded by
a moat and walls with four corner guardhouse towers. The
Hong Kong Tourist Board's information centers at the Star
Ferry terminals and in Central (99 Queen's Road) can help
you arrange to join a local tour.
Zoological and Botanical Gardens
About a 10-minute walk west of Hong Kong Park, these gardens
are a welcome change from the noise and crowding in Central.
Animal lovers won't be impressed by the zoo, however, which
confines orangutans and leopards in small cages.
Government House
The official residence of the governors of Hong Kong under
British rule. A tower was added during the Japanese occupation
of Hong Kong in World War II. At present, Government House
is only open to the public one or two days each year. At
other times, it is used for official functions and to entertain
visiting dignitaries.
Hong Kong Museum of History
A historical overview of the city, focusing on pirates,
wars, economic growth and hardships. It also has an excellent
collection of local photographs from the late 19th and early
20th centuries..
Hong Kong Museum of Art
This museum, located in the Hong Kong Cultural Center, contains
more than 2,000 Chinese antiques.
The Clock Tower
Standing near the Star Ferry pier on the Kowloon side, the
Clock Tower was part of the old terminus for the Kowloon-Canton
Railway line. Built in 1915, the tower made it into the
21st century thanks to the Heritage Society in Hong Kong,
which put up a brave fight to save it as one of the few
original landmarks of Tsim Sha Tsui. The promenade in front
of the Clock Tower is one of the best places to watch the
lights come up on Hong Kong Island at dusk and snap a perfect
picture-postcard shot of the city's skyline.
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| Nature
and Adventure |
| Hong
Kong is a city of levels. At the top is Victoria Peak, on
Hong Kong Island, from which mansions of the super-rich
look out over the high-rise apartments of the merely affluent.
Farther down the mountain are alleys and old tenements dotted
with colorful balcony gardens. Living on the water itself
are Hong Kong's boat people -- fishing families who spend
most of their lives on their boats. Across the water on
the mainland are Kowloon and the suburban New Territories,
which were once Hong Kong's vegetable garden.
Although the popular image of Hong Kong
is a place where every square inch of land is crammed with
high-rise apartments and office buildings, in reality, 38%
of all land in Hong Kong is parkland or undeveloped greenery.
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