Want to play Quidditch? You can, in a former Hong Kong factory
Industrial plants have become fun palaces where you can play Harry Potter's favourite game, or try bubble soccer, indoor skiing, archery tag and other serious indoor fun
With big trucks offloading goods at the front and back entrances, and laundries and (smelly) food factories taking up some of the floors, ageing factory buildings hardly seem like cool hangouts for hipsters and fun seekers. But with the exodus of the city's manufacturing industry to mainland China in recent decades came an influx of artists and chefs who have been making use of these industrial venues, staging edgy exhibitions and offering cooking classes.
Now, professional athletes are moving in on the trend, turning once drab warehouse spaces into gleaming ski slopes, verdant baseball lanes, sprawling soccer pitches and even a sandy beach complete with bouncy beds. Outdoor sports are so yesteryear. Inside these new well-equipped activity "hubs" visitors can really work up a sweat and have some serious fun - come rain or shine.
Watch: See the fun things you can do in Hong Kong's factories
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Said to be the largest venue for indoor skiing in the city, the two-floor venue in Kwun Tong has three artificial skiing slopes imported from Holland. Built for skiing and snowboarding, the HK$1.5 million platform resembles a gigantic treadmill with varying gradients and speeds to simulate gliding down a snowy slope.
A one-hour lesson for individuals or groups with coaching costs about HK$1,000. Self-practice costs HK$700 per hour. Hailey Chan Chi-lam, marketing and events manager, says they cater to both beginners and advanced skiers: "Novices can warm up here before they get on a real snow slope. Then they won't feel totally out of their depth. Three or four lessons should be enough to master the basics. Veteran skiers can further hone their skills."
On the second floor is the Formula One racing zone. In the middle of the zone there is a gleaming life-sized Formula One car imported from Budapest. Surrounding it are nine simulators with either two or three screens which can be networked together for a group of friends to race each other.
"The Budapest race car is for training by professional racers who set the level of difficulty to advanced. Players can feel the effects such as screeching to a halt and the jolts and bumps from racing at top speed. The only thing they can't feel is the forceful impact after they crash." The F1 Budapest simulator costs more than HK$300 for 30 minutes.
Also on the second floor are three baseball lanes which are equipped with ball-throwing machines. The balls fly at speeds ranging from 50km/h to 140km/h, the speed of professionally pitched baseballs. A round of 18 balls costs HK$30.
Bubble Soccer Hong Kong
There appears to be a theme running through the activities at this Wong Chuk Hang indoor sport venue that opened last November. It recently launched Quidditch, the game prominently featured in JK Rowling's series. But before you get too excited, there is no flying around at breakneck speed during matches. Instead, players run around a 2,600 sq ft pitch with a broomstick between their legs.
"A game of Quidditch is played for just six minutes. It's enough to get people exhausted. After the games, they can chill out at the bar at the back," says one of the founders, Jason Fung Chun-hei. The use of the pitch for the first hour costs HK$2,500.
Quidditch is basically a handball game with props. The two opposing teams have to race to the goalpost and throw the ball through one of the three hula hoops hanging from the ceiling to score a point. To spice up the game, a golden snitch - in the shape of a drone - will fly around during the last two minutes of the game. The team who catches it will end the game and get extra points.
Also on offer is "Archery Tag" imported from the US. Think . Two teams, armed with bows and arrows, have to shoot all their opponents to win. Players can hide behind plastic bunkers and various inflatable barriers.
To keep the game that lends its name to this venue fresh, you can now play bubble soccer (and dodgeball) here in the dark. Players get into a glowing inflated bubble before kick-off. The rules are the same: players need to either defend their own goal or to score against their opponents by knocking players on the other team to the ground. With fluorescent-painted walls (similar to ) this game is as much fun for spectators to watch as it is for fans to play.
Impact Force
This warehouse space in San Po Kong offers a game based on the hit Korean variety show in which guests complete missions in different "maps". The 10,000-plus sq ft venue has four themed zones: the wizard's chessboard, secret garden, the mystery maze and the witch wardrobe.
The set-ups and decor are stunning. Sculptures of knights and their rearing horses surround the wizard's chessboard. The castle room has gold-rimmed mirrors, a fireplace, classic paintings and antiques. There are multifarious challenges including navigating around green laser beams on a chessboard, jumping up and using your head to hit a brick to get gold coins like video game franchise Mario, and finding your way out of a pitch black maze.
A minimum of six people are divided into two teams that race to finish all the tasks in the four zones. Coaches are on hand to explain the rules and give a helping hand when players are at a loss over the puzzles. The game takes 90 minutes and costs HK$2,200 for two teams of three. In spite of the complexity of some of the challenges, founder Billy Chong Wai-fung says 98 per cent of players can complete all the missions.
"Company employees engaged in teambuilding exercises make up a large part of our clientele. We want to give them visual excitement and the chance to exercise their brains at the same time. Our team came up with the themes in the challenges, such as Mario and Harry Potter. Those who want pure action can go to our [more than 30,000 sq ft] war game zone upstairs."
Soccer Cages
Opened six months ago, Soccer Cages in Tsuen Wan features a pitch surrounded by metal grids and wire mesh; check out Nike's commercial "cage match" to get an idea of the set-up. The venue's Michael Mak Ting-cheung says the game can be played by teams of three or four.
"Compared with the usual football game with 11 people on a team, each player here gets a lot more chances to interact with the ball and enhance their dribbling and scoring. Apart from that he rules are basically the same as ordinary soccer."
Peak hours at night and on public holidays cost HK$700 per hour and HK$1,800 for three hours.
Sand House
Opened last July, Sand House is the first indoor beach in Hong Kong of this scale. Next to the 2,500 sq ft sandy area is the children's playground with several big bouncy beds. People can play bubble soccer and other ball games on the sand. Founder Peter Chong says he got the idea of opening an indoor beach after a trip to Taiwan.
"Taiwan, Japan, Britain and the US all have indoor beaches. We keep sprinkling water onto the sand to avoid it getting too dry. The sand was imported from China, and people can use it to build castles like on a real beach. While we don't get sunlight, we offer other things such as party rooms and all kinds of games."
Renting the whole venue for four hours costs HK$9,888. Myriad other renting options are available.
