Here there be pirates. Set on a peninsula along Hong Kong Island’s southeast coast, Stanley is known in Cantonese as Chek Chue, or Bandit’s Post. Though the origins of the name are debated, legend has it that Hong Kong’s most famous pirate, Cheung Po Tsai (the island of Cheung Chau is named after him) once had a secret lair here, a cave that was closed up in the 1950s. The English name comes from a 19th-century British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Today, the area is a rich residential district, with a famous tourist attraction at its heart. With its narrow alleyways and dozens of small shops selling clothing, souvenirs, art and jewelry, Stanley Market doesn’t have much that you can’t find elsewhere in the city. However, the difference here is that when you have finished shopping, you are just steps away from glorious yellow sand beaches and a restaurant-lined boardwalk that curves around a scenic crescent-shaped bay. On weekends, locals and visitors alike flock here to relax under the sun and enjoy a variety of international dining. At the end of the bay stands an imposing three-storey colonial-era building—Murray House. Built in 1846 as British Officers’ Quarters, it was later used as government offices and—for a dark period during WWII—as a detention centre by the Japanese military police (kempeitai). Though it seems like it may have stood here for more than a century, it was actually originally located in Central. One of Hong Kong’s oldest buildings, in 1982 it was carefully dismantled brick by brick to make way for the Bank of China building, and stored for 20 years before being reassembled in Stanley in 2002. It now houses several restaurants as well as a Maritime Museum (www.hkmaritime-museum.org) on the ground floor. Next to it stands the Victorian-era Blake Pier, also formerly located in Central and subsequently moved, from which visitors can catch ferries south to the small island of Po Toi. On the other side lies an old Tin Hau Temple built in 1767, which honours the goddess of the sea. This was supposedly built by none other than the pirate Cheung Po Tsai himself.
Opening Times Daily 10.30 am–6. 30pm (Stanley Market)
Address Stanley, Hong Kong
Getting There Bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 from Exchange Square bus terminus (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D), or MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B, cross Hennessy Road, turn right, walk one block to Tang Lung Street and take green minibus 40
Contact Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor Hotline: +852 2508 1234 (9 am–6 pm, daily); www.discoverhongkong.com
Admission Fee Free
8 The Ping Shan Heritage Trail
Discover a slice of traditional and rural Hong Kong
The New Territories was founded by the ‘Five Great Clans’—Man, Hau, Pang, Liu and Tang—whose ancestors were the first to move into the area from Mainland China. The Tangs have inhabited the area since at least the 11th century, living in what is now Hong Kong for more than 900 years. Many of the city’s most prominent people share the surname, including Sir David Tang, founder of the famed Shanghai Tang chain of stores and the exclusive China Club; and Henry Tang, the former Chief Secretary for Adminis tration (the second highest position in the Hong Kong government), who lost the 2012 Chief Executive race to Leung Chun-ying. One of the oldest group of Tang villages can be visited along the Ping Shan Heritage Trail, a government cultural initiative launched in 1993. Located in a formerly rural area in the northwestern New Territories, the walking trail is approximately 1 km long and passes traditional Chinese buildings in the villages of Hang Mei Tsuen, Hang Tau Tsuen and the walled village of Sheung Cheung Wai. Clearly explained signage marks landmarks along the way, including the Hung Shing and Yeung Hau Temples, the ancient Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda (the only such example in Hong Kong), the Kun Ting Study Hall (used by students preparing for the Imperial Civil Service Examination during the Qing Dynasty), and the Tang Ancestral Hall (due to the clan’s historic wealth and power, this is one of the largest examples in the territory). As these are still working villages, the most unique part of walking the Ping Shan Heritage Trail is seeing a slice of Hong Kong as it once was: traditional, rural and dominated by clans. When you’ve finished your stroll through the city’s past, stop by the Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery and Heritage Trail Visitors Centre. Built in 1899 in a colonial style, this charming two-storey building was once the local police station before being converted to its present use in 2007.
See: www.amo.gov.hk/en/trails_pingshan.php
Opening Times Daily
Address Ping Shan, Tin Shui Wai, New Territories
Getting There To reach the start of the trail, take the MTR West Rail line to Tin Shui Wai station, then follow the signs from Exit E
Contact Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor Hotline: +852 2508 1234 (9 am–6 pm, daily); www.discoverhongkong.com
Admission Fee Free
9 Tai O Village
Visit this village on stilts, the ‘Venice’ of the east
Located on the far west coast of Lantau Island, the fishing village of Tai O sits on the very edge of Hong Kong. Indeed, Chinese territory once extended up to its very shoreline, meaning British rule ended the moment you left land. However, the new Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) borders were redrawn following the 1997 handover, and the maritime boundary shifted roughly 2 km offshore. Tai O is known as the Venice of Hong Kong due to the large number of stilt houses built either side of a river that runs though its middle. Local residents feel such affinity for their housing style that when a devastating fire in July 2000 destroyed a majority of buildings, they refused the government’s offer to construct new homes away from the water, instead demanding that their old abodes be rebuilt. Because of its strategic position and sheltered harbour, during its history Tai O has variously been a base for Portuguese sailors, Qing Dynasty mandarins, British colonial officials, pirates and smugglers (due to its continued proximity to Chinese waters, the latter are still common, especially for cigarettes, narcotics and illegal immigrants). In addition, it was a main entry point for refugees fleeing the Chinese Civil War. Up until the 1950s, it was also famed for salt farms, the surrounding marshes proving perfect for the mineral’s production. These days, the village mostly relies on weekend tourism, when flocks of locals and foreigners descend to soak up the rural atmosphere. As well as purchasing bags of locally produced shrimp paste and salted fish, visitors also come for the ‘dolphin tours’, where a fleet of identical villager-piloted speedboats whiz you through the surrounding waters in a usually futile search for the endangered Pearl River Delta Chinese white dolphin. Better known as the pink dolphin due to its distinctive skin colouration, these shy animals are usually wise enough to steer clear of the small craft crashing through the waves. On the way out of the harbour, you may notice a small two-storey colonial building peeking out from the tree-line on your right. This was the old Tai O Police Station, which was reopened as the Tai O Heritage Hotel in 2012.
See: www.taioheritagehotel.com
Opening Times Daily
Address Tai O, Lantau Island, New Territories
Getting There From Mui Wo, take New Lantau Bus No. 1. From Tung Chung Bus Terminal, take New Lantau Bus No. 11
Contact Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor Hotline: +852 2508 1234 (9 am–6 pm, daily), www.discoverhongkong.com
Admission Fee Free
10 Sea Kayaking