Hong Kong neighbourhood guide: Yuen Long is a blend of old and new

“Hong Kong is small.”

That’s something you often hear, especially from people on Hong Kong Island who rarely venture across the harbour. But if it is ever necessary to disabuse someone of the notion that Hong Kong is anything but a big city, there’s one place you should take them: Yuen Long.

Sprawling through a broad valley near the shores of Deep Bay, Yuen Long is home to half a million people. It’s like a parallel-universe version of Hong Kong: instead of the tram, there’s the Light Rail; instead of bustling Nathan Road, crowds flock to Castle Peak Road, which is lined by a similar abundance of neon lights and blinking LEDs.

In many ways, it’s an improvement on the urban areas, because Yuen Long has preserved the earthy, unvarnished atmosphere that has been gentrified away from so many other neighbourhoods. Hawkers and dai pai dong-style restaurants throng the streets and independent businesses still outnumber chain stores by a large margin.

“If you go from Sheung Wan to Yuen Long, it’s like a different country,” says Pinky Leung, who runs Accro Café, a renowned Yuen Long coffee shop.

“People have a lot of stereotypes about Yuen Long – they always ask me if there’s cows in the streets. But there’s so much to do here,” says Joey Chung, who grew up in the area.