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Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Building
The two bronze lions guarding what is now HSBC (formerly the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank) headquarters main entrance were designed by British sculptor WW Wagstaff to mark the opening of the bank's previous headquarters in 1935. The lions are known as Stephen - to the left as you face them - and Stitt, after two bank employees of the time. The Japanese used the lions as target practice during the occupation; you can still see bullet holes on Stitt.
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Hung Shing Temple
Nestled in a leafy nook on the southern side of Queen's Rd East, this narrow and dark temple (which is also called Tai Wong Temple) is built atop huge boulders in honour of a Tang-dynasty official who was well known for his virtue (important) and ability to make predictions of great value to traders (ultra-important).
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Hung Shing Yeh Beach
About a 25-minute walk southeast from the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier, Hung Shing Yeh Beach is the most popular beach on Lamma. But arrive early in the morning or on a weekday and you'll probably find it deserted. The beach is protected by a shark net and has toilets, showers and changing rooms, but the view of the power station across the bay takes some getting used to.
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Jade Market
The Jade Market, near the Gascoigne Rd overpass just west of Nathan Rd and split into two parts by the loop formed by Battery St, has some 400 stalls selling all varieties and grades of jade from inside two covered markets. Unless you really know your nephrite from your jadeite, it's probably not wise to buy any expensive pieces here, but there are plenty of cheap and cheerful trinkets on offer as well.
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Jardine House
A short distance southeast of Star Ferry pier, this 52-storey silver monolith punctured with 1750 porthole-like windows was Hong Kong's first true 'skyscraper' when it opened as the Connaught Centre in 1973. Hong Kong Chinese like giving nicknames to things (and people, be they friend or foe) and the centre has been dubbed the 'House of 1000 Arseholes'.
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Kat Hing Wai
This tiny village is 500 years old and was walled in some time during the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It contains just one main street, off which a host of dark and narrow alleyways lead. There are quite a few new buildings and retiled older ones in the village. A small temple stands at the end of the street.
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Kowloon Mosque & Islamic Centre
North of the intersection of Nathan and Haiphong Rds, the Kowloon Mosque & Islamic Centre is the largest Islamic house of worship in Hong Kong. The present building, with its dome and carved marble, was completed in 1984 to serve the territory's 70,000-odd Muslims, more than half of whom are Chinese, and can accommodate 2000 worshippers. It occupies the site of a mosque built in 1896 for Muslim Indian troops.
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Kowloon Park
Built on the site of a barracks for Indian soldiers in the colonial army, Kowloon Park is an oasis of greenery and a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of Tsim Sha Tsui. Pathways and walls crisscross the grass, birds hop around in cages, and towers and ancient banyan trees dot the landscape.
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Kowloon Walled City Park
The walls that enclose this beautiful park were once the perimeter of a notorious village, part of China throughout British rule. The enclave was known for its sordid proclivities until the Hong Kong government acquired the area, evicted the residents and replaced them with pavilions, ponds, turtles, goldfish and exquisite flora.
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Kwun Yam Shrine
Towards the southeast end of Repulse Bay Beach is an unusual shrine to Kwun Yam. The surrounding area has an amazing assembly of deities and figures - goldfish, rams, the money god and other southern Chinese icons, as well as statues of the goddess of mercy and Tin Hau. Most of the statues were funded by local personalities and businesspeople during the 1970s. In front of the shrine to the left as you face the sea is Longevity Bridge; crossing it is supposed to add three days to your life.
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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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Lantau Link Visitors Centre
The Lantau Link Visitors Centre and its viewing platform is where you can take in the enormity of Tsing Yi Bridge and the Lantau Link, the combined road and rail transport connection between the New Territories and Lantau. The centre contains models, photographs and videos of the construction process - very much a crowd-pleaser for train spotters and the hard-hat brigade.
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Law Uk Folk Museum
This small museum, a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History dating from 1990, is housed in two restored Hakka village houses that have been standing in Chai Wan - a district of nondescript office buildings, warehouses and workers' flats - for more than two centuries. The quiet courtyard and surrounding bamboo groves are peaceful and evocative, and the displays - furniture, household items and farming implements - simple but charming.
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Legislative Council Building
The colonnaded and domed neoclassical building on the east side of Statue Square was once the old Supreme Court. Built in 1912 of granite quarried on Stonecutters Island, it has served as the seat of the Legislative Council (Legco) since 1985. Standing atop the pediment is a blindfolded statue of Themis, the Greek goddess of justice and natural law.
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Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
This burial vault dating from the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220) was discovered in 1955 when workers were levelling the hillside for a housing estate. It is one of Hong Kong's earliest surviving historical monuments and, believe it or not, was once on the coast.
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Lions Nature Education Centre
This 34-hectare attraction, 2km northwest of Hebe Haven and just off Hiram's Hwy, is Hong Kong's first nature education centre and comprises everything from an arboretum, a medicinal plants garden and an insectarium to a mineral and rocks corner and a shell house. We love the Dragonfly Pond, which attracts up to a quarter of the more than 100 dragonfly species found in Hong Kong. You can reach the centre on bus 92 from Diamond Hill MTR and Choi Hung, bus 96R on Sunday and holidays from Diamond Hill to Wong Shek Pier and green minibus 1A from Choi Hung.
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Lo So Shing Beach
If you continue south from Hung Shing Yeh Beach, the path climbs steeply until it reaches a Chinese-style pavilion near the top of the hill. From this vantage point, it becomes obvious that the island is mostly hilly grassland and large boulders, though more and more trees are being planted.
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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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Lower Albert Road & Ice House Street
Lower Albert Rd, where the massive SAR Government Headquarters (18 Lower Albert Rd) is located, has many interesting buildings. The attractive off-white stucco and red-brick structure at the top of the road is the Dairy Farm Building, built for the Dairy Farm Ice & Cold Storage Company in 1898 and renovated in 1913.
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Lung Tsai Ng Garden
This magical garden southwest of Ngong Ping, with a lotus pond crossed by a rickety zigzag bridge, was built by a wealthy merchant in the 1930s in a small valley near where the village of Lung Tsai once stood. The site is rather derelict, but atmospheric nonetheless and the gardens are in excellent condition. You can reach here via a water catchment path and trail from the Tai O Rd, a continuation of South Lantau Rd just west of Keung Shan.
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Mai Po Nature Reserve
The 270-hectare nature reserve includes the Mai Po Visitor Centre (2471 8272) at the northeastern end, where you must register; the Mai Po Education Centre (2471 6306) to the south, with displays on the history and ecology of the wetland and Deep Bay; floating boardwalks and trails through the mangroves and mud flats; and a dozen hides where you can watch birds without being observed. Disconcertingly, the cityscape of Shenzhen looms to the north.
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Man Mo Temple
This temple is one of the oldest and most famous in Hong Kong. The Man Mo, literally 'Civil and Military', is dedicated to the two deities of aforementioned attributes. Inside the temple are two antique chairs shaped like houses, used to carry the two gods at festival time. The smell of incense coils suspended from the roof permeates the air.
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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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Markets
These two lively markets frequented by Hakka people are worth a look, particularly early (ie before ). Sheung Shui market is 250m north of the Sheung Shui KCR East Rail station. To reach Fanling market in the old district of Luen Wo Hui, walk north along Sha Tau Kok Rd for about 1.5km or catch bus 77K from the Fanling KCR East Rail station. This bus carries on to the market in Sheung Shui.
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Miu Fat Monastery
Miu Fat Monastery in Lam Tei, due north of Tuen Mun town centre, is one of the most well-kept and attractive Buddhist complexes in the territory. Guarding the entrance to the main temple are two stone lions and two stone elephants, and there are attractive gardens outside. This is an active monastery that preserves more of a traditional character than many smaller temples; you'll see Buddhist nuns in droves wearing brown robes.
