https://www.scmp.com/rss/963/feed Martin Williams is a Hong Kong-based writer specialising in conservation and the environment, with a PhD in physical chemistry from Cambridge University. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Martin Williams Martin Williams When a business boasts about its “sustainability” efforts, do you find yourself writing it off as little more than marketing jargon? And if you hear about used plastic bottles being “upcycled”, do you envision something that resembles a bunch of badly cut up rubbish? If you are this jaded, meet Jacqueline Chak and Genevieve Chew, co-founders of design company Editecture. Over the past 11 years, the duo have devised and overseen a host of projects that, put simply, transform trash into furniture.... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3307850/meet-hong-kong-firm-making-sustainability-real-brands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3307850/meet-hong-kong-firm-making-sustainability-real-brands?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Apr 2025 06:00:17 +0000 Given that the Hong Kong government espouses the principle of “conservation in the south” of Lantau, has set up the Sustainable Lantau Office and recently invited expressions of interest to build the South Lantau Eco-recreation Corridor, you might expect that this project fully embraces the principles of sustainability and ecotourism. The United Nations defines ecotourism as “nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourists is the observation and appreciation of nature... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3307170/wheres-eco-south-lantaus-eco-recreation-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3307170/wheres-eco-south-lantaus-eco-recreation-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Martin Williams Martin Williams On a sunny afternoon this January, south Lantau’s Cheung Sha Beach was quiet, with few people other than a couple sunbathing by the trees, another strolling along the sand. Slowly, a yacht approached from the southeastern horizon and rode the breeze to within a couple of hundred metres from shore. Out dropped an inflatable kayak, then onto that a man and a woman in shorts and T-shirts who began paddling towards the beach. Nearing the shore, the kayak was propelled forward on a wave and tossed... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3300389/sailors-and-runners-show-their-mettle-hong-kongs-four-peaks-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3300389/sailors-and-runners-show-their-mettle-hong-kongs-four-peaks-race?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:00:09 +0000 You may find yourself on a Hong Kong beach, and you may find yourself under a blistering blue sky. And you may ask yourself, what’s this weird light in the sky? Though there’s not a breath of wind, the sea froths, rises a metre or two, then surges. The shoreline deflates then another line of surf develops, and the water surges again. If you are acquainted with local weather lore, you may know there is probably a typhoon just out to sea, and it is probably inbound. Nowadays, you can just take out... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3274135/how-are-typhoons-tracked-inside-hong-kong-observatorys-fight-predict-extreme-weather-events?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3274135/how-are-typhoons-tracked-inside-hong-kong-observatorys-fight-predict-extreme-weather-events?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2024 05:15:10 +0000 As the tide rises on a winter’s day, thousands of waterbirds gather on the dwindling area of exposed mudflats. Flocks of sandpipers and other shorebirds, black-and-white avocets, egrets, herons and spoonbills. Gulls crowd the shoreline, beyond which parties of ducks throng the shallows. The air rings with the birds’ piping and trilling, then, cries of alarm and a sudden rush of wing beats, as a peregrine falcon hurtles into their midst, scattering the flocks and leaving the flats briefly... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3263099/how-hong-kongs-mai-po-wetlands-are-under-threat-again-and-past-battles-bird-paradise-has-faced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3263099/how-hong-kongs-mai-po-wetlands-are-under-threat-again-and-past-battles-bird-paradise-has-faced?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2024 23:45:18 +0000 Along a narrow path through a centuries-old village sits a grey-brick house with granite blocks around the doorway. Built in 1927, this relatively grand construction recalls one of Hong Kong’s far-flung New Territories villages, decades past their prime with a few remaining elderly residents. But this is Ngau Chi Wan, in northeast Kowloon, still conveniently located for residents working in the city. Through the house’s open doorway, in a subdivided flat, Chun Man, an infant boy, lies asleep in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:15:14 +0000 Climate change has been prominent in worldwide news this summer, notably as we have just lived through the hottest week since records began. Given a series of global warming events, alarm bells should be ringing, along with efforts to change our ways. Instead, the response has been a collective “meh”. Our approach to climate change has parallels with a subject of recent headlines – the Titan submersible disaster. In both cases, humans are facing challenges arising from basic physics – pressure... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229129/climate-change-titan-disaster-shows-theres-no-ignoring-basic-science?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229129/climate-change-titan-disaster-shows-theres-no-ignoring-basic-science?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jul 2023 17:00:15 +0000 Although Hong Kong’s bucolic Sha Lo Tung area is less than 4km (2.5 miles) from the bustle of Tai Po Market – a satellite town of high-rise residential blocks and shopping malls in Hong Kong’s northeastern New Territories – the only road in is narrow, angling up a wooded hillside before curling around into a small valley, ending just above a burbling stream. The basin floor spreading out from either side is undulating, and a worn track leads past a fence marking the boundary of an organic... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3221924/how-battlefield-hong-kong-countryside-area-marred-land-development-saga-taking-steps-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3221924/how-battlefield-hong-kong-countryside-area-marred-land-development-saga-taking-steps-become?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 May 2023 03:15:19 +0000 On the morning of July 2, 2022, as Hong Kong was lashed by rainstorms from Typhoon Chaba, a Government Flying Service helicopter was on a rescue mission close to the eye of the storm. Approaching a vessel that was reportedly in distress, the four-man crew, including co-pilot Billy Cheung Wing-kin, saw it was aground in shallow waters, with only part of the upper deck, wheelhouse and a tall blue crane visible, awash with waves from the raging sea. The crane was listing at around 45 degrees, and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3219540/were-no-heroes-dangerous-life-saving-missions-hong-kongs-government-flying-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3219540/were-no-heroes-dangerous-life-saving-missions-hong-kongs-government-flying-service?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 May 2023 23:45:17 +0000 The morning of March 30, I headed to a hilltop vantage above Nam Shan in southeast Lantau. Around 10am, I scanned the horizon over the Chi Ma Wan Peninsula to the south, and saw what I thought was one of the black kites so familiar to Hong Kong, but with thinner wings and a more buoyant flight. Through my binoculars, I saw the bird was brown on top, pale beneath and had a whitish stripe above each eye, as it passed just east of me, heading north, followed minutes later by several more, gliding... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3188704/birds-prey-hong-kong-divert-flight-paths-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3188704/birds-prey-hong-kong-divert-flight-paths-they?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2022 03:45:17 +0000 So here we are. The heating is on. No longer are we predicting that global warming may occur, with experts cautiously saying this or that weather event just might be attributable to climate change. This summer, northern hemisphere heatwaves left a slew of records – several by margins that were startling even for seasoned climate scientists. Hong Kong was also hot, with last month the hottest since records began in 1884. While it takes time for the full impact of heat and droughts to become... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3187756/hong-kong-plans-and-studies-while-climate-change-accelerates-are-we?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3187756/hong-kong-plans-and-studies-while-climate-change-accelerates-are-we?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Aug 2022 01:45:19 +0000 On February 1, 2020, as the coronavirus yet to be named Covid-19 was starting to spread, Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at the University of California who studies infectious diseases, tweeted, “Duck tape your underpants. 2020 is going to be a wild ride”. And what a wild ride it was, with the outbreak rapidly becoming a pandemic and – according to the worldometer website – causing 1,954,817 deaths by December 31, 2020. Not that the wild ride ceased at the end of 2020: Covid-19 is still here,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3180104/covid-19-persists-amid-puzzling-hepatitis-cases-and-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3180104/covid-19-persists-amid-puzzling-hepatitis-cases-and-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 01:45:14 +0000 More than two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, and with yet more measures being introduced by the Hong Kong government, it seems like we’re in a perpetual state of “déjà vu all over again” (as US baseballer Yogi Berra put it), and no closer to “normal”. It’s incredibly tiresome, yet as a Los Angeles Times article noted this month, while many might say they are “done with Covid”, Covid’s not done with us. Perhaps, then, it is worth looking at how science suggests Covid-19 will pan out and ways... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166520/hong-kongs-covid-19-measures-must-be-driven-scientific-fact-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166520/hong-kongs-covid-19-measures-must-be-driven-scientific-fact-not?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Feb 2022 22:45:13 +0000 A recent run-in with something rather sharp and likely putrid triggered a short staycation in a hospital near my Hong Kong home on Cheung Chau island. I had developed cellulitis. No, not cellulite – the condition that causes lumpy, dimpled flesh on the thighs, hips, buttocks and stomach (that many people have) – but a bacterial infection deep in the inner layers of the skin. It started simply enough, as I played frisbee with my son in the shallow, sandy waters at Cheung Sha beach on Lantau... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3141921/my-cellulitis-scare-how-serious-bacterial-infection-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3141921/my-cellulitis-scare-how-serious-bacterial-infection-was?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jul 2021 20:15:08 +0000 Hong Kong has a wealth of wildlife, which sometimes comes as a surprise to people who think of it as a highly built up city. Its freshwater wetlands, hill forests and streams, mangrove-fringed coastal mudflats and inshore waters dotted with islands, Hong Kong is home to 23 species of lizard, 52 species of snake, 250 species of butterfly, 55 species of terrestrial mammal, and two types of marine mammal. More than 550 bird species have been recorded here. For all this rich biodiversity, though,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3134885/conservation-hong-kong-six-endangered-species-highlighted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3134885/conservation-hong-kong-six-endangered-species-highlighted?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 May 2021 23:15:09 +0000 It can be enjoyable to hike up and over hills, but there may be times when you prefer to start from somewhere that is already well above sea level – particularly once the summer heat has arrived. Somewhere, for example, like Ngong Ping, an upland basin on Lantau Island. Ngong Ping can be reached on one of Hong Kong’s most scenic bus rides, from either Mui Wo (bus No 2) or Tung Chung (bus No 23), both of which deliver views of hillsides, shorelines and Lantau Peak soaring above the Shek Pik... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3131782/hikes-around-lantau-peak-ngong-ping-plateau-home-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3131782/hikes-around-lantau-peak-ngong-ping-plateau-home-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 May 2021 04:15:11 +0000 In January last year, as reports were emerging of a new coronavirus being detected outside mainland China, I wrote a column that suggested, “It can be readily transmitted by mobile people, and indeed cause a pandemic.” This wasn’t conjecture, but rather it was based on science including evolutionary biology. It states that highly lethal viruses immobilise too many people to spread well, while those that allow high mobility can become widespread and exact a huge toll, like the Spanish flu of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116763/coronavirus-death-toll-and-lingering-effects-show-wisdom-sciences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116763/coronavirus-death-toll-and-lingering-effects-show-wisdom-sciences?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jan 2021 17:30:10 +0000 A natural barrier to the north of urban Hong Kong, the Kowloon hills make for fine hiking with excellent views – although getting to them on foot may seem daunting. Happily, a road up to and along the eastern ridge enables easy access to the heights, with their challenging hikes and easy strolls. The narrow, winding Fei Ngo Shan Road climbs the hillside from Clear Water Bay Road and reaches the crest of the hills to the north of Kowloon Peak. Passengers alight from their vehicle here to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3104850/hike-hong-kongs-kowloon-hills-stunning-views-north-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3104850/hike-hong-kongs-kowloon-hills-stunning-views-north-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2020 07:15:17 +0000 When dark clouds roll in, threatening to unleash downpours, it may seem like a bad time to plan a Hong Kong hike, but you could be missing an opportunity. Streams and waterfalls are at their most impressive when they’ve been replenished and water is tumbling down. Even near your home there might be gullies with temporary, picturesque cascades – but for more splendid sights, you must head further afield. Typically, the best Hong Kong waterfalls are reached only by rough trails that become... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3100018/some-best-waterfalls-hong-kong-are-easy-reach-and-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3100018/some-best-waterfalls-hong-kong-are-easy-reach-and-after?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 11:15:12 +0000 “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees,” American essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau is quoted as having said. Given that this year in Hong Kong has been remarkable for too many of the wrong reasons, we could no doubt all do with some of that magic. Happily, there are hiking, paths that are near the city along which you can hug a tree, while listening to streams cascade over rocks, cicadas buzz and birds call from dense cover. Here are five places to try. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3098244/discover-hong-kong-woodland-walks-five-places-enjoy-nature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3098244/discover-hong-kong-woodland-walks-five-places-enjoy-nature?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2020 09:15:13 +0000 Although it has only been around six months since the Covid-19 pandemic came to light and began surging worldwide, an entire era – when schools were open as a matter of course, only a handful of coughing and sniffling individuals wore face masks and it was a cinch to cross borders for business and leisure – seems like a long time ago. Many aspects of life have since changed. And with no sign of the pandemic ending any time soon, it seems these changes will remain, with more to come as we seek... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093979/living-coronavirus-we-can-forget-about-quick-return-normal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093979/living-coronavirus-we-can-forget-about-quick-return-normal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jul 2020 01:00:12 +0000 Taking scenic photos from a variety of places, in countries far and wide, is not an option thanks to travel restrictions to limit the coronavirus outbreak. Those of us living in Hong Kong must therefore settle for taking our photographs locally. And that’s no bad thing. Even if you do something as simple as shooting images repeatedly from the same spot, it’s possible to capture highly contrasting shots. Just before he died last year, photographer Michael Wolf published a book of photographs all... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3091756/how-take-better-photographs-and-make-most-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3091756/how-take-better-photographs-and-make-most-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 04:15:16 +0000 If you see a patch of brightly coloured flowers in a Hong Kong urban or country park, chances are they have also attracted the attention of brightly coloured butterflies. These might be swallowtails or close relatives, which are among the most spectacular you can find anywhere. Hong Kong is home to 23 species of swallowtails, among an impressive tally of around 245 butterfly species, and watching and photographing these can make for a great outdoor experience. A casual interest in swallowtails... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3085201/butterfly-bonanza-bisexual-freak-ones-wings-wider-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3085201/butterfly-bonanza-bisexual-freak-ones-wings-wider-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2020 04:15:09 +0000 Many people in Hong Kong have spent more time indoors in recent months than is good for mental or physical health – especially those in confined living spaces. With some Covid-19 social distancing measures finally set to lift next month, many of us will be looking forward to a more balanced way of life, including outdoors exercise and relaxation. One new study from China, appearing as a preprint on medRxiv, looked at coronavirus transmission and found that, among 7,324 identified cases, only one... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3082429/discover-hong-kong-parks-foot-where-go-kowloon-five?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3082429/discover-hong-kong-parks-foot-where-go-kowloon-five?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2020 05:00:12 +0000 Its airport might be astonishingly quiet, but Hong Kong is still an international travel hub, with multiple arrivals and departures under way this month. These travellers are migratory birds – on journeys from winter haunts as far south as Australia, to breeding grounds in Siberia, or even Alaska. And wherever you are in Hong Kong, the migrants – along with year-round residents – offer a chance to enjoy some of the wonders of the natural world, right outside your home. Although serious... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3079637/why-hong-kong-april-birdwatchers-paradise-migratory-birds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3079637/why-hong-kong-april-birdwatchers-paradise-migratory-birds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2020 07:00:06 +0000 The Sunset Peak massif dominates the interior of eastern Lantau Island and its high grassy slopes make for some of the finest upland hiking in Hong Kong. There’s an expansiveness to the landscape, which seems splendidly remote from the city – making it feel like a real escape. But first, you have to get there. The most popular route follows a section of the Lantau Trail, which you might start from the western end, at Pak Kung Au, 333m (1093ft) above sea level; or at Nam Shan to the east. Nam... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3078282/hiking-hong-kongs-lantau-island-adventure-sunset-peak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3078282/hiking-hong-kongs-lantau-island-adventure-sunset-peak?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2020 04:15:16 +0000 With some Hong Kong government sports centres still closed, one of the best ways of getting some exercise for the whole family is to get on a bicycle, and ride away those coronavirus blues. Hong Kong hardly abounds with urban routes for relaxing cycling, but there is a fine one in the northeast New Territories, from Tai Po Market to Tai Mei Tuk. There are several cycle hire shops along the route, and you could even hire and start south of Tai Po Market, such as in Sha Tin or Tai Wai – then... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3075321/cycling-hong-kong-during-coronavirus-discover-stunning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3075321/cycling-hong-kong-during-coronavirus-discover-stunning?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2020 04:30:08 +0000 One of the most widespread afflictions in coronavirus-hit Hong Kong today is cabin fever. The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition – “Extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time” – sums up how many of us are feeling. Happily, there is a ready cure: get out and about. Ideally, this would mean heading for a long hike in areas remote from the city. But not everyone is a hiker, so here is an option for a 13km trip by tram and on foot... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3064968/things-see-hong-kong-tram-33-cent-journey-history-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3064968/things-see-hong-kong-tram-33-cent-journey-history-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2020 04:30:12 +0000 In 2007, four disease experts at the University of Hong Kong published a paper on Sars, in which they concluded: “The presence of a large reservoir of Sars-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb.” Now, that time bomb is going off – and we might be witnessing the onset of a pandemic of a kind not seen for 100 years. Compared to regular bombs, this may seem slow, even a non-event. Yet consider this: about six weeks... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3064741/if-many-us-are-going-catch-covid-19-anyway-we-must-find-ways-live?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3064741/if-many-us-are-going-catch-covid-19-anyway-we-must-find-ways-live?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2020 01:30:11 +0000 Less than a year ago, a visit to Tai O, a village on the western tip of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island known for its houses on stilts, would have meant jostling with crowds in the narrow streets and joining long queues for a bus back towards the urban areas. Today the throngs of tourists have gone, and Tai O has become an attractive option for families and individuals seeking fresh air and relief from the cabin fever brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, with so many events cancelled and leisure... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3049523/tranquil-haven-world-gone-mad-hong-kong-villages-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3049523/tranquil-haven-world-gone-mad-hong-kong-villages-lantau?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2020 07:00:10 +0000 Pandemic diseases have sometimes caused huge death tolls in history – notably, bubonic plague killed an estimated 50 million in Europe alone during the 14th century, and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 infected maybe 500 million people worldwide, killing between 20 and 50 million. Thus, the emergence of a new disease is understandably attention-grabbing. That’s the case now, given the sudden outbreak of a coronavirus that is likely to have originated among exotic animals sold for food in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3047495/china-coronavirus-beijing-should-close-down-live-animal-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3047495/china-coronavirus-beijing-should-close-down-live-animal-food?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2020 18:00:14 +0000 With so many tourists deterred by news of the protests in Hong Kong, now is a good time to enjoy attractions that are usually thronged with visitors. Take the Peak Tram, for example, which on a recent weekday morning was so quiet there were only six other people on board. While taking the tram is in itself worthwhile – the journey takes passengers from the jumble of high-rise buildings to the wooded slopes high above them – it is also a handy way of reaching higher parts of Hong Kong Island... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3046796/its-great-time-explore-hong-kong-protests-keeping-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3046796/its-great-time-explore-hong-kong-protests-keeping-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2020 07:00:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s Battery Recycling Centre has been ominously quiet for some time. On a recent visit the mainly bright blue machinery and yellow safety fencing were still spick and span. It’s not supposed to be like this. Instead, the box-shaped, three-storey structure in Hong Kong’s EcoPark should be busy and noisy, smashing used lead-acid batteries to bits, cleaning and purifying their components and producing recycled products, especially lead. The plant’s interior is reminiscent of the first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3046812/why-recycling-isnt-working-hong-kong-battery-recovery-plant-idle-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3046812/why-recycling-isnt-working-hong-kong-battery-recovery-plant-idle-most?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jan 2020 23:45:12 +0000 Though it is just weeks since I experienced tear gas, the memory of it is a bit of a blur. One minute, I was among a group watching riot police approach Central, the next, someone appeared beside me and threw a petrol bomb, prompting instant bangs as tear gas canisters were fired towards us. Along with the others, I headed for a side street. I was just in time to escape the worst of the tear gas. Still, my eyes stung, there was a lingering acrid taste in my mouth and my throat felt unpleasantly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3042692/health-officials-must-come-clean-about-harmful-effects-tear-gas-so?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3042692/health-officials-must-come-clean-about-harmful-effects-tear-gas-so?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Dec 2019 01:30:08 +0000 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. Once you step off the ferry on the west coast of Cheung Chau, on the waterfront road called the Praya, the main beach is a couple of minutes’ walk away, just in front of you.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3042028/adventure-sea-views-temples-and-meal-seafood-cheung-chau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3042028/adventure-sea-views-temples-and-meal-seafood-cheung-chau?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2019 04:25:05 +0000 Located on the Tibetan plateau, Namsei Township in China’s Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai province is home to endangered species including snow leopards.  The big felines have earned the district the name “Valley of the Cats."  It is inside Sanjiangyuan Park, one of the first wildlife areas to be included in China’s new national park system. https://www.scmp.com/china/welcome-chinas-valley-cats/article/3040157?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/welcome-chinas-valley-cats/article/3040157?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2019 10:10:06 +0000 A broad river surges through a canyon-like valley with sandstone cliffs and little vegetation other than swarthy conifers, shrubs and grass; no, this isn’t Arizona but China’s Qinghai province, high in the eastern Himalayas. Here the upper Mekong, known locally as the Lancang, flows through an area that was once part of Kham, the southeastern third of Tibet. The gravel road turns to follow a tributary, passes more sandstone cliffs and climbs towards mountains. We pass a dozen goats traversing a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3039543/searching-snow-leopards-valley-cats-chinas-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3039543/searching-snow-leopards-valley-cats-chinas-new?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Nov 2019 12:00:13 +0000 Though its setting is unusual – nestled in a forested ravine, deep within Shanxi province – Shengshou Temple resembles many temple complexes I have visited in China. There are buildings with brick walls, topped with curved, tiled roofs. Doorways lead into six courtyards. The temple is well looked after, though there are few signs of religious activity. Perhaps a grey-haired woman who walks by is one of the acolytes, attending to nuns or monks who are somewhere out of sight, and putting out fruit... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3031083/exploring-shanxis-secrets-temples-natural-beauty-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3031083/exploring-shanxis-secrets-temples-natural-beauty-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Oct 2019 05:08:17 +0000 Measured as the crow flies, the main section of the Great Wall of China built in the Ming dynasty stretches some 2,000 kilometres from west to east. For much of its length, the wall dips and climbs through mountain ranges, until at last it drops to a narrow coastal plain, crosses the town of Shanhaiguan – Pass Between Mountain and Sea – and ends at the shoreline of the Bohai Sea. Now picture the crow flying southwest from Shanhaiguan. The coastal plain widens, the mountains are lost from view,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3025104/beidaihe-chinese-leadership-retreat-genteel-english?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3025104/beidaihe-chinese-leadership-retreat-genteel-english?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2019 23:30:14 +0000 Though we are barely 300 metres (1,000 feet) from shore, there is a real sense of adventure as my son and I, with guide Dinh Ki Dat, paddle slowly in a wooden canoe across the calm brown waters of a lake in South Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park. There are no other boats out; around us, the grassy shores are backed by dense green rainforest. Scanning the shoreline, there’s surprisingly not even a glimpse of birds such as storks and herons, nor water buffalo. Perhaps it is because of the lake’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3024073/rainforest-adventure-yourself-discover-vietnams-wild-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3024073/rainforest-adventure-yourself-discover-vietnams-wild-side?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Aug 2019 09:00:09 +0000 Our tuk-tuk stops by a modern, low-rise hotel, and the driver motions for us – my wife, son and I – to walk to the patio. “There’s a good view,” he says. It’s an easy stroll to a vantage point atop a steep slope that drops to a coastal village and the southern bay of Weizhou Island, perhaps 60 metres below. Though I've heard that Weizhou Island is volcanic, it’s only as I see that the inlet is almost circular, with a distinct rim, that I realise this is no ordinary bay, but rather the sea-filled... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3016762/chinas-best-beach-and-volcanic-island-rocks-weizhou-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3016762/chinas-best-beach-and-volcanic-island-rocks-weizhou-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 04:15:26 +0000 Living in Hong Kong, I am aware that the Greater Bay Area has become a megalopolis, but there is still something astonishing about heading to Foshan, a city in the heart of the region. The city centre is around 30 kilometres from Shunde, terminal of a ferry route from Hong Kong. The journey there passes clusters of high-rise flat blocks – many newly built and unoccupied, surviving villages with modern houses up to seven storeys high, motorways, railways, power lines strung from imposing pylons... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3010024/day-trips-hong-kong-foshan-bruce-lee-memories-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3010024/day-trips-hong-kong-foshan-bruce-lee-memories-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 04:30:07 +0000 It’s the end of a grey, gloomy day, and in a car park amid woodland in Hong Kong’s central New Territories, four moth enthu­siasts have just finished putting up a set of lights. There’s time for a picnic dinner before an evening of “mothing” commences. “It looks good this evening – overcast with a little mist,” says Roger Kendrick, the organiser of the exercise. Soon after nightfall, the bespectacled, thinly bearded Briton, whose passion for moths led him to found a consultancy, C&R Wildlife,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3003821/insect-apocalypse-coming-study-hong-kong-moth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3003821/insect-apocalypse-coming-study-hong-kong-moth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Mar 2019 03:00:06 +0000 There is far more to Indonesia than the resorts of Bali, particularly if you are willing to venture off the beaten track. Even a relatively short road trip from Jakarta allows you to explore a variety of glorious landscapes and experience life on Java, the world's most populous island. Escape the sprawling metropolis of Jakarta, and head directly from the airport towards the south coast, avoiding the downtown areas. While it is less than 100 kilometres (62 miles) as the crow flies, traffic en... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2185830/indonesia-road-trip-explore-javas-active-volcanoes-idyllic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2185830/indonesia-road-trip-explore-javas-active-volcanoes-idyllic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Feb 2019 12:05:28 +0000 The Hong Kong village of Shalotung was abandoned some 40 years ago.  Over decades without humans, nature has reclaimed the landscape.  Now it's become one of the most biodiverse locations in south China, home to many diverse species – including six endangered kinds of dragonflies.  A rising demand for housing means the area is facing development: but conservationists are trying to keep the village a sanctuary for nature, not humanity. Watch our video, above, for more. https://www.scmp.com/society/shalotung-biodiverse-ghost-town-hidden-hong-kong/article/3000592?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/shalotung-biodiverse-ghost-town-hidden-hong-kong/article/3000592?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jan 2019 08:26:47 +0000 Head into the hills near Tai Po Market, taking a narrow road from the fringe of the industrial estate, and it is almost as if you are leaving 21st century Hong Kong behind. The road climbs through woodland, curls to the right to cross the crest of a ridge, then dips into a basin ringed by hills. This is Sha Lo Tung: a tranquil place, with old village houses – many of them crumbling to ruins; plus streams fringed by woodland, and marshy patches that were once paddies. Hong Kong hiking:... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2183138/take-easy-hike-around-sha-lo-tung-rural-gem-was-saved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2183138/take-easy-hike-around-sha-lo-tung-rural-gem-was-saved?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:15:15 +0000 Cruising the waters south of Lantau, the largest of Hong Kong’s islands, we scan the sea for life but spot nothing other than occasional parties of gulls. Naomi Brannan, one of four researchers on board the vessel, takes her turn as lookout, gazing at waves stirred by an easterly breeze. Number of Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong is critically low Born and raised in Hong Kong, Brannan studied for a master’s degree at Durham University in England and in 2017 submitted her thesis on how... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2181495/waste-incinerator-threatens-hong-kongs-finless-porpoises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2181495/waste-incinerator-threatens-hong-kongs-finless-porpoises?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:45:30 +0000 While the weather has always been fickle, there are indications of increasing weirdness as climate change progresses. In Hong Kong, this past November did not bring the clear, sunny days we would expect: instead it was much gloomier than usual, and warmer, with only feeble northeast monsoons. Earlier in the year, an exceptionally hot and dry May was followed by an August when it seemed the summer monsoon rains belatedly arrived, and a pummelling by Severe Typhoon Mangkhut. UN climate deal brings... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2179395/how-climate-change-could-transform-tourism-and-best-ways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2179395/how-climate-change-could-transform-tourism-and-best-ways?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Dec 2018 12:45:45 +0000 Checking the schedule for long-distance, high-speed rail routes from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus, it appears one of the few convenient stops for a weekend away with my wife and son is Huizhou in central Guangdong province. Huizhou is the name of both a city and the surrounding county in the eastern “Greater Bay Area”, with a mix of urban areas, culture and scenery. The city was once noted for its gangsters, with a 1997 San Francisco Chronicle describing it as being “widely regarded as... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2175760/china-weekend-break-huizhou-lake-districts-rich-history-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2175760/china-weekend-break-huizhou-lake-districts-rich-history-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Dec 2018 05:30:15 +0000 A gazelle gazes at us across a patch of thistles. It’s a slightly built member of the antelope family, with a slender face and upright ears flanking two short horns. Nearby is another, with slightly longer horns; a male. The pair stroll from behind the thistles to graze on grass and white flowers, affording fine views of their mostly brown fur, slender legs and the white rumps that help signal danger as they bound away from predators. It may seem unsurprising to come across these animals in a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2167827/israel-advenurous-great-outdoors-treat-nature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2167827/israel-advenurous-great-outdoors-treat-nature?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:00:30 +0000