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| Hong
Kong Tours |
Hong
Kong has the big city specials
like smog, odour, 14 million
elbows and an insane love
of clatter. But it's also
efficient, hushed and peaceful:
the transport network is excellent,
the shopping centres are sublime,
and the temples and quiet
corners of parks are contemplative
oases.
The
best thing about being in
Hong Kong is getting flummoxed
and fired by the confluences
and contradictions of a Chinese
city with multi-Asian and
Western elements. It's about
savouring new tastes, weaving
through a human gridlock and
humming some dumb Cantopop
tune while slurping your noodles.
From
the vantage point of Victoria
Peak, overlooking the world's
busiest deepwater port, you
can see a city geared not
only to making money but feeling
good about it. At night, it's
like looking down into a volcano.
Despite
its British colonial past,
Hong Kong has always stuck
to its roots, and the culture
beneath the glitz is pure
Chinese. Mind you, that didn't
stop locals from feeling apprehensive
about being reunited with
the motherland when the British
handed the colony back to
China in 1997; however, it
seems their unease has largely
evaporated.
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Attraction
in Hong Kong
Hong
Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is the glitzy big
brother of Kowloon - a tightly packed,
towering paean to market capitalism
that hasn't been dented one jot by
Chinese rule. The bustle of people
living and working is the biggest
attraction on the island, although
many visitors head around to Aberdeen,
on the southern side of the island,
where 6000 people live or work on
junks anchored in the harbour. Sampan
tours of the Aberdeen Harbour are
definitely worth the expense. The
other major draw is the floating restaurants.
Kowloon
Tsim Sha Tsui, at the tip of the Kowloon
Peninsula, is the territory's tourist
ghetto. It consists of one sq km of
shops, restaurants, pubs, topless
bars and camera stores. However, Kowloon
is also home to the Hong Kong Cultural
Centre, the Space Museum, the famous
Peninsula Hotel and the Museum of
History.
The Promenade, in East Tsim Sha Tsui,
is a great place for a stroll, and
has wonderful views of Victoria Harbour,
particularly at night. The liveliest
night market in the territory is on
Temple St in Yau Ma Tei.
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New
Territories
Although a third of Hong Kong's
population lives in new towns
constructed in the New Territories,
the area has some scenic escapes,
including the Sai Kung Peninsula,
in the east, which is an unspoilt
playground for hikers, campers,
swimmers and boaters.
Bird-watchers
head to the Mai Po Marsh;
cyclists and walkers head
to Plover Cove Reservoir;
hiking enthusiasts set out
on the 100km-long (62mi-long)
MacLehose Trail which spans
the New Territories from Tuen
Mun in the west to Pak Tam
Chung in the east.
Outlying
Islands
There are 234 outlying islands,
many of them little more than
uninhabited rocks. However,
Cheung Chau (2.5 sq km/1 sq
mi) has 22,000 residents and
is fast developing into a
mini Honolulu, although there
is no motorised traffic.
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Lantau,
the largest of the islands (142 sq
km/55 sq mi) has a population of 45,000,
a 933m (3060ft) peak, and a 70km (43mi)
walking trail, but has avoided many
of the development excesses of other
islands. It is home to several important
monasteries, including Po Lin Monastery
with its enormous bronze Buddha. Thanks
to the newish airport development,
Lantau is now connected by bridge
to the mainland. Other islands worth
visiting include Lamma, Peng Chau,
Poi Toi and the uninhabited Tung Lung
Chau.
Reaching
Hong Kong
Air travellers will be treated to
Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong's giant greenhouse
of an airport; it's one of the world's
ritziest. By land, the only way into
Hong Kong is from mainland China:
you can choose between bus and train.
Water is perhaps the most picturesque
way to arrive in Hong Kong; there
are boats that take you between Hong
Kong and destinations in Guangdong
and Guangxi Provinces, as well as
Macau.
Hong Kong is the major gateway to
China and much of East Asia. International
air service is excellent and fares
are relatively cheap. Departure tax
is usually included in the airfare.
In June 1998 Hong Kong opened its
new international airport - Chek Lap
Kok - on Lantau Island, ending an
era of steep descents and daredevil
landings at Kai Tak in Kowloon.
By land, the only
way into Hong Kong is through mainland
China. Since the handover, transport
options have increased dramatically,
connecting places as close as Shenzhen
and as far as Beijing. Although
the Hong Kong SAR is now an integral
part of China, visas are still required
to cross the border with the mainland.
Trains run between Hong Kong and
Guangzhou (Canton), Shanghai and
Beijing (about 30 hours). Big-spenders
can take the Trans-Siberian Railway
from Europe to Beijing and on to
Hong Kong.
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