Showing 1-9 of 9 results
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Hong Kong Observatory
This historic monument, built in 1883, is sadly not open to the public. It continues to monitor Hong Kong's weather and sends up those frightening signals when a typhoon is heading for the territory.
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Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree
Until a short time ago this large banyan was laden with coloured streamers of paper tied to oranges. The idea was to write your wish on a piece of paper, tie it to the citrus fruit and then throw it as high as you could up into the tree. If your fruit lodged in the branches, you were in luck. But things got out of hand, and in 2005 a large branch of the tree came crashing to the ground, dashing most punters' wishes once and for all.
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Lover's Rock
A kilometre or so northeast of the Police Museum is what the Chinese call Yan Yuen Sek, a phallus-shaped boulder on a bluff at the end of a track above Bowen Rd. This is a favourite pilgrimage site for childless women and those who think their lovers, husbands or sons could use the help of prayer and a joss stick or two. It's especially busy during the Maidens' Festival held on the seventh day of the seventh moon (mid-August).
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Man Wa Lane
Just a block east of the Sheung Wan MTR station, this narrow alley is a good introduction to traditional Sheung Wan. Stalls here specialise in name chops: a stone (or wood or jade) seal that has a name carved in Chinese on the base. When dipped in pasty red Chinese ink, the name chop can be used as a stamp or even a 'signature'. The merchant will create a harmonious and auspicious Chinese name for you.
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Nathan Road
Kowloon's main thoroughfare was named after Sir Matthew Nathan, governor of Hong Kong from 1904 to 1907. As Kowloon was very sparsely populated at the time and such a wide boulevard thought unnecessarily extravagant, it was dubbed 'Nathan's Folly'.
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Noonday Gun
Noel Coward made the so-called Noonday Gun famous with his satirical song Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1924), about colonials who braved the fierce heat of the midday sun while the local people sensibly remained indoors: 'In Hong Kong/they strike a gong/And fire off a noonday gun/To reprimand each inmate/Who's in late'. Apparently when Coward was invited to pull the lanyard, he was late and it didn't go off until .
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Plover Cove Reservoir
Plover Cove Reservoir was completed in 1968 and holds 230 million cubic metres of water; before then Hong Kong suffered from critical water shortages and rationing was not uncommon. Even after the reservoir opened, water sometimes had to be rationed; taps were turned on for only eight hours a day through the dry winter of 1980/81.
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Possession St
A short distance west of Cat St, next to Hollywood Road Park and before Hollywood Rd meets Queen's Rd West, is Possession St. This is thought to be where Commodore Gordon Bremmer and a contingent of British marines planted the Union flag on 26 January 1841 and claimed Hong Kong Island for the Crown, though no plaque marks the spot.
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Sam Ka Tsuen Seafood Precinct
The 'village' of Lei Yue Mun is one of Hong Kong's prime seafood venues; around two-dozen fish restaurants line narrow, winding Lei Yue Mun Praya Rd overlooking the typhoon shelter. It's a colourful and lively place to dine by the water at night and is always busy. To get here from the Yau Tong MTR station, use exit A2 and follow Cha Kwo Ling Rd and Shung Shun St south for 15 minutes or catch green minibus 24M from outside the station. Bus 14C links the Yau Tong Centre halfway down the hill with the Kwun Tong MTR station.
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Showing 1-9 of 9 results
