Adventure, sea views, temples and a meal of seafood – Cheung Chau island’s southwest is ripe for exploring
- Cheung Chau is an oasis of peace and quiet in Hong Kong, and its southwest corner is ideal for a leisurely ramble or energetic scramble
- Visit old temples and a pirate’s cave, see some impressive rocks along its coast, and work up an appetite for a seafood lunch or dinner
Now is the perfect time for a leisurely ramble around the southwest corner of Cheung Chau, and a day far away from the disturbances wrought by protests elsewhere in Hong Kong. These days the usually busy streets of the outlying island 10km (6 miles) southwest of Hong Kong Island are quiet, with barely a tourist in sight.
Look to the right along the waterfront, and you will see the public pier, topped by an impressive, tent-like roof. From here, sampans shuttle across the harbour to Sai Wan, a village in the southwest of the island. The ride takes around 10 minutes, passing moored vessels, including fishing boats that venture as far south as Indonesia on month-long forays to catch and bring back coral reef fish.
At Sai Wan, there is a harbour barely as big as a soccer pitch, where some of the houseboats ejected from Discovery Bay Marina last year are moored just outside the pier. Hop off the sampan and there are steps to a junction with footpaths to a wooded headland. The path to the right is more interesting, as a minute or two of walking brings you to a pretty temple honouring Tin Hau, goddess of the sea.
From here, and from a neighbouring pavilion, there are fine views over Cheung Chau’s main harbour – an expanse of water bounded by three barriers built of rocks, which protect it against storm waves. Ashore, on the low hills of north Cheung Chau, houses nestle on the slopes. The bigger island of Lantau is a couple of kilometres to the northwest, its bays and headlands backed by wooded, undulating hills higher than any on Cheung Chau, that rise towards Sunset Peak.