Central, Western & Mid-Levels

Map 16 Officially known as Victoria until the name went out of fashion, the financial and administrative centre of Hong Kong now goes by the more prosaic name of Central District. It’s still the headquarters of government and big business, with local and international banks and hongs (trading houses) represented by ever-higher and shinier office…

Eastern District

Map 17 The northern shore of Hong Kong Island is one solid conurbation from one end to the other. Eastern District refers to all areas east of Causeway Bay: from Tin Hau through North Point and Quarry Bay to Chai Wan. It’s all accessible by MTR and tram. Much of the district was originally shipyards.…

Lantau Island

Maps 8, 9, 12 & 13 Lantau Island is the first part of Hong Kong that most new arrivals see as they touch down on the runway at Chek Lap Kok – but they are whisked straight into the city over the spectacular Tsing Ma Bridge, and some never return to see the island’s attractions,…

Mong Kok & Yau Ma Tei

Map 15 When a district is often heard described as ‘the most densely populated area in the world’, you expect crowds. But when those crowds are joined by honking taxis, pollution-belching minibuses and the heavy humidity of a Hong Kong summer, you begin to realise just what an ordeal a visit can be. The population…

North and East Kowloon

Maps 9 & 10 When you look across the harbour from Hong Kong Island, you can see that the flat peninsula of Kowloon is enclosed by a steep ring of mountains. Urban Kowloon had been spreading north for many years, but the foothills of these mountains were settled en masse by refugees from China following…

North New Territories

Maps 2, 3, 5 & 6 The northern part of the New Territories butts onto the border with China which, since it was opened in 1979, has become one of the world’s busiest crossing points. The three old market settlements of the area – Tai Po, Fanling and Sheung Shui – have been developed into…

Outlying Islands

Hong Kong Island is just one of many mountainous isles included in the SAR. All told, there are more than 230 of them. Many have been inhabited for centuries by fishing or farming communities and their traditions live on to the present day. If you visit at the right time, you may happen upon a…

Pok Fu Lam and Aberdeen

Maps 14 & 16 The southwest corner of Hong Kong Island has a long maritime heritage: incense was being exported from Aberdeen harbour long before the British arrived on the scene. Indeed Aberdeen’s Chinese name – Heung Gong Tsai – is what British sailors heard when they asked the name of the island they were…

Sai Kung

Maps 6, 7 & 11 With more than their fair share of natural beauty, the Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay peninsulas are known as Hong Kong’s ‘back garden’. The landscape is spectacular, the coastline green and the water often crystal clear. A heavily indented shoreline hides many bays which are popular destinations for junk…

Sha Tin

Map 6-C4 Sha Tin lies in a wide, flat valley south of Tolo Harbour, and in ancient times was famed for the quality of its rice. Villagers dug for shellfish along the sandy shore. Development began when the Kowloon-Canton Railway arrived in 1910, and accelerated in the 1960s and 70s when the Hong Kong Government…

Southside

Map 14 Unlike the northern side of Hong Kong Island, the Southside has generally retained its natural coastline intact – and what a coastline it is. Glittering shores incorporate headlands and beaches, bays and offshore islets. Its natural beauty and close proximity to the city make it a prestigious place to live. When the British…

The Peak

Map 16-E3 Victoria Peak rises 550m above Central and commands views of everything from Kowloon to the hills of the New Territories. Once a restricted residential area for the self-appointed cream of colonial society, governors used to live up here until the mists and access problems got to them. Now it’s a de rigeur stop…

Tsim Sha Tsui

Map 15-C4 The epitome of urban, close-quarters Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui is loud, crowded, and very much a 24 hour kind of place. It’s also one of Hong Kong’s most cosmopolitan areas and many large hotels are found here. The district occupies the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula and enjoys unrivalled views across…

Wan Chai, Happy Valley & Causeway Bay

Map 17 OK, so its reputation precedes it, but Wan Chai is more than just a girlie-bar zone. The district has historical neighbourhoods, street markets, hotels and government office complexes. Causeway Bay is one of Hong Kong’s prime shopping districts, while Happy Valley is centred on its racecourse. The area’s geography was radically different when…

West New Territories

Maps 2, 4 & 5 The geography of the western New Territories makes it starkly different to the rest of Hong Kong. Instead of being mountainous, it is largely flat: a wide plain rich with alluvial silt. This made it good land for farming, and many of Hong Kong’s earliest-established clans migrated here from the…