Walk It Off

With pollution, great transport links and air-conditioned malls on every corner, it’s easy to forget that Hong Kong can actually be a nice place to take a stroll. In fact, there’s a lot to see on our vibrant streets, provided you know where to look. Here are four fun and easy routes that take you around some of Hong Kong’s most interesting and diverse districts.

A mix of new and old

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a great place to explore. It’s home to several classic architectural and culinary gems, and thanks to new developments springing up all around the area in recent years, the district also contains some awesome new shops and restaurants. Follow this tour for a taste of both.

Starting Point: Three Pacific Place (Admiralty MTR station, Exit F)
Ending Point: 62-66 Johnston Road, a short walk from exit A3, Wan Chai MTR station

1. OVO Home and Garden

Enter Wan Chai via exit F at Admiralty MTR station, which takes you onto Queen’s Road East. On the opposite side of the road is OVO Home (No. 16, 2536-7226). It sells furniture and accessories with unique Asian designs, and it’s a great shop to wander about in. Next to it is OVO Garden (No. 22, 2529-7226), a florist that creates some of the best and most innovative flower arrangements around. OVO marks the beginning of the Star Street area, a unique shopping and dining destination. For more quirky furniture and accessories, head to flea + cents (1/F, No. 34-38, 2528-0808).

2. Wing Fung Street

As you walk up to Wing Fung Street, you’ll see Agnès b.’s Librairie Galerie, the French fashion label’s art gallery (1/F, Number 18, 2869-5505, check p.27 for their exhibition listings). After perusing the paintings, head Classified Mozzarella Bar (No. 31, 2528-3454) just opposite for a relaxing glass of wine.

3. Sun Street

Head to the top of Wing Fung Street and then take a left onto Sun Street, a hotspot for hipsters and the art crowd in recent years. On the corner is Spoil Café (1A, 3589-5678), an extremely cozy and popular eatery for light meals. Next to it is Korean-English owner Sonjia Norman’s boutique and homeware shop Sonjia (No. 3, 2529-6223) and Chen Mi Ji (No. 4, 2549-8800), an indie retro thrift shop which doubles as a gallery. And finally, you’ll see the Wan Chai branch of the excellent French restaurant Chez Patrick at the end of the street (No. 8-9, 2527-1408).

4. Kapok

As you leave Sun Street, you’ll come to St. Francis Yard. Visit Kapok (No. 5, 2549-9254), a boutique that showcases products by up-and-coming designers. It also stocks funky candles, T-shirts, CDs, books, wallets and accessories, all from owner Arnault Castel’s personal collection.

5. Ship Street

Then, head down St Francis Street and back onto Queen’s Road East. Walk away from Admiraly and towards the heart of Wan Chai until you arrive at Ship Street. Walk up the stairs until you reach number 55, Nam Koo Terrace. It’s an abandoned mansion and supposedly the city’s most haunted spot. It’s also a popular spot for local photographers, provided they can figure out how to get in. Too freaky for you? Head back downstairs and make a right to visit the Hung Shing Temple (129-131 Queen’s Rd. East), which has been protecting the wellbeing Wan Chai residents since 1847.

6. Lei Tung Street (Wedding Card Street)

Continue down Queen’s Road East, where you’ll see three preserved tenement buildings (no. 186, 188 and 190). They all have 19th century-style balconies that jut out over the edge of the road to form a covered sidewalk. Sadly, you’ll then come across an empty construction site where the now demolished Wedding Card Street used to be.

7. The Blue House

After a while, you’ll walk past Wan Chai Market (No. 264), a classic Bauhaus-style wet market that had been threatened with demolition many times before the government agreed to protect it. Finally walk up Stone Nullah Lane to get to The Blue House (No. 72-74). This wood and brick structure was built in 1920 and has now been preserved for revitalization at a later date. It currently houses the Wan Chai Livelihood Museum.

8. Tai Yuen Street Market

Walk back down Stone Nullah Lane until you get to the Tai Yuen Street Market, an outdoor market that was personally saved from demolition by chief executive Donald Tsang. This is one of the last remaining street markets in the city.

9. The Pawn

As you venture further down Tai Yuen Street, it will bring you to Johnston Road. Take a left and you’ll hit The Pawn (No. 62, 2866-3444). The British restaurant is housed in a former pawnshop, which was one of a row of four tenement buildings, the first of which was built in 1888. Sipping a beer on its balcony and watching the trams go by is an unbeatable experience. The building also houses the stylish Chinese restaurant OVOlogue (No. 66, 2527-6088). Pick either restaurant for a satisfying meal to round off your tour.

Rural HK

Yuen Long

20 years ago, Yuen Long was a backwater town, difficult to get to and with nothing worth seeing. But with the construction of new roads and the MTR West Rail Line, this northwestern district has never been easier to reach.

Starting and Ending Point: Yuen Long MTR station

1. Nam Sang Wai Pier

Nam Sun Wai is a picturesque wetland and the starting point to one of the city’s easiest and most pleasant hikes. Take green minibus 611 from the MTR station and get off at The Parcville. Walk down Yuen Long Kau Hui Road and enter Shan Pui Road. Follow the signs and go down a small road opposite the public toilet, and there you’ll find a tiny pier. An old villager and his sampan operate what must be the shortest water route in the world (whistle to get his attention), and he’ll bring you across the heavily polluted river to Nam Sang Wai for $5.

2. Nam Sang Wai Path

You won’t need a map after getting off the sampan. Just keep walking and enter a long, pleasant lakeside path lined with eucalyptus trees on both sides. You will then see a small bridge over the water, a popular spot for marriage photography.

3. Shan Pui River

The path eventually brings you to Shan Pui River, where mangroves and birds can be found. A team of Wetland Park volunteers arrive every weekend to provide information and binoculars to visitors. Follow the same route back to downtown Yuen Long.

4. Sweet Heart Garden

If you find yourself heating up, take minibus 611 to Yuen Long bus terminus and walk down On Ning Road to dessert shop Sweet Heart Garden (No. 138, 6309-2296, open 3:30pm to 1:30am). Here you’ll find a very popular iced mango dessert, made with an old-fashioned ice-crushing contraption.

5. Wing Nin Stall

Still hungry? Walk down to Yuen Long Plaza and cross over the bridge to get to Fung Nin Road. There, you’ll find Bo Shing Building, the location of a famous cart noodles restaurant, which has an unbelievably long queue all year long. Its delicious and inexpensive cart noodles (choose from a huge selection of local specialties such as fishballs, chicken wings, pig’s intestines and pig’s blood jelly) are so popular that they have their own Facebook group with more than 3,000 members.

6. Lau Fau Shan

If you’ve still got time to kill, head back out to Yuen Long Main Road and take bus K65 to Lau Fau Shan. This pleasant fishing village is situated on the shore of Deep Bay, and you can see China from there. Buy a bottle of Hong Kong’s last fresh, handmade oyster sauce at Yu Kee ( 4-6 Hoi Bim St., 2472-1001), and a traditional preserved egg pastry made daily by an old granny at Tai Hing (17-19 Main St., 2472-1461). Also meet the fishermen by the waters, who’ll be happy to crack open some fresh oysters for you. Walk back out to the bus stop and follow the signs to Ha Pak Nai, arguably the best spot to watch the sunset in Hong Kong.

7. Tai Wing Wah

There’s nothing better than ending a tour of Yuen Long with an excellent walled village meal at Tai Wing Wah Restaurant (2 On Ning Rd., 2476-9888). Helmed by local food personality Hugo Leung, all dishes are expertly made and so traditional that they’re almost impossible to find anywhere else. Our favorite dishes: steamed shredded taro with pork, steamed egg with fish intestine in a clay bowl, and of course a bowl of rice mixed with lard and soy sauce. From there, walk around 10 minutes to go back to the MTR station.

Hidden Gems

Tai Po

While Tai Po town center is densely populated with 400,000 inhabitants, and much of it comprises public housing estate blocks, out in the country there are loads of places to visit for an enjoyable day out.

Starting Point: Tai Po Market MTR Station
Ending Point: Tai Wo MTR station

1. Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve

Start the tour with a short minibus ride into the countryside (green minibus 20C or 20K; get off at Fung Yuen Village). There, you’ll find this rare butterfly reserve (50 Fung Yuen Village, Ting Kok Rd.), a 42-hectare “Special Site of Scientific Interest” that is home to more than 180 butterfly species, including 50 rare breeds. Beside offering ecotours, the reserve hosts activities such as butterfly survey training. The best time to visit is before 10am or at around 4pm.

2. Tai Po Waterfront Park

If all of this is too out of the way, there’s always the Tai Po Waterfront Park. Either catch a shuttle from Tai Po Market station on Sundays and public holidays, or follow the signs to walk there. This 22-hectare park is one of the best parks in the city with lots of green leisure areas for people to ride bikes, fly a kite or even picnic on the grass. On Sundays and public holidays, the pier at the end of the park turns into “Sea-Land Market,” and a boat tour from Tolo Harbour (tickets are $15 and include a $5 cash coupon) will take you to the market in time for Hakka stage performances and stalls. The park’s lovely promenade features some quirky Soviet constructivist architecture, but it is also a great place for a quiet stroll by the sea.