 Downtown Hong Kong is a fascinating place to stroll around, with flashing neon lights, bustling pavements, air-conditioned shopping malls, little parks and restaurants everywhere. Spend some time just soaking up the atmosphere and people-watching in this city which truly never seems to pause for breath.
The Peak
Hong Kong’s most visited attraction is reached by a rack railway from Central, which climbs the hillside behind the city to the top of Mt Victoria. The ascent itself, which costs HK$30 for adults and HK$9 for children, is marvellous. Many people come twice to see the view, which is spectacular both by day and night.
What else you do at the top depends on your temperament. Some find the entertainment pricey and tacky: there’s a Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks, a Ripley’s Believe It or Not and a Discovery Playground. You can also wander around the Chinese gardens or swim in the pool. The complex is set to expand in 2005, and parts of it may be closed for renovations which should be finished by July. At present, the souvenir shops aren’t of great quality, and the food in the restaurants tends to be overpriced and rather ordinary.
Those more willing to find physical exertion can hike on up the hill and watch locals flying Chinese kites from the summit. The walk around The Peak is unbeatable, with staggering views of skyscrapers and harbour, as well as the mansions of the well-heeled. The track is paved all the way, and suitable for strollers.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Scheduled to open in September 2005 on Lantau Island, this will likely top the list of attractions for kids in Hong Kong. Along with the classic Disney stories and attractions such ass Sleeping Beauty Castle, Hong Kong Disneyland also features original attractions designed specifically for Hong Kong, as well as entertainment and parades that will celebrate local culture.
Main Street, U.S.A., is designed after small town America and leads to Sleeping Beauty Castle, the gateway to Fantasyland where favourite Disney stories come alive. Take a spin in a teacup, or meet many of the beloved Disney characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Snow White and Mickey Mouse. The centrepiece of Fantasyland will be the brand new Fantasy Gardens, unique to Hong Kong Disneyland.
Adventureland will showcase the jungles of Asia and Africa. Here guests can take a daring ride on a jungle river cruise, and visit a live-entertainment theatre. Tomorrowland, on the other hand, is filled with science fiction and soaring space adventures, including an Intergalactic Spaceport of shops and restaurants filled with robots, rocket ships and floating planets.
Science Museum
With a vast array of interactive exhibits, technology-minded kids will enjoy exploring this excellent museum, which has everything from a mini submarine to a flight navigation system. Kids can do everything from blowing bubbles to designing an electrical circuit. There’s also an area designed for 3-7 year olds. A good place to go when the humidity gets too high to tramp around outside. The museum has free entrance on Wednesdays.
Space Museum
Located inside a strange egg-shaped building and crammed with hi-tech displays, as well as a giant Space Theatre and planetarium, one of the world’s largest. There are some interactive rides, but they have height and weight restrictions on children. Free entrance on Wednesdays.
 Ocean Park
Near the town of Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island, this vast theme park is full of rides and other activities, and you could easily spend an entire day here. There are rollercoasters, a recreation of Chinese history, dinosaur exhibits, a theatre and even two giant pandas in their own special enclosure. Marine Land has one of Asia’s largest aquariums featuring sharks and other creatures, and regular performances by sealions and dolphins. A special Kid’s World features playgrounds, children’s ride, remote-controlled cars.
Admission is HK$165 for adults and HK$85 for children. You can also join a behind the scenes tour to show you areas not normally seen by the public, which will give you a chance to see how the dolphins, sharks and pandas are looked after, among other things – a great experience for nature-loving kids.
Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park is a quiet treasure infrequently visited by tourists and often overlooked by residents too. It has lily ponds, an artificial waterfall, a playground for kids, a maze, games hall, centre for the visual arts, restaurant and Museum of Chinese Teaware. The highlight is the stunning aviary of six hundred birds, one of the world’s largest; visitors follow an elevated walkway suspended ten metres in the air among the branches of the surrounding trees.
Zoo and Botanic Gardens
The Zoo won’t win any prizes for its rather uninspiring collection and rather heavy cages, although you can see gorillas, jaguars, monkeys and a whole lot of exotic birds, and admission is free. The Botanic Gardens retain a stately Victorian atmosphere and are cluttered with hydrangeas, camellias, poinsettias, tree ferns, and bamboo. The day kicks off at 7am with taichi practice among the shrubbery, moves on to mothers and their children taking the air, and doesn’t finish until the last chattering red-cheeked gibbon falls silent at dusk.
Aw Boon Haw Gardens
Constructed by the heirs to the Tiger Balm fortune, this isn’t so much a garden as a collection of grottoes, pavilions and plaster statues depicting Chinese gods, animals and other mythological creatures. Children will love exploring the kitsch and colourful collection, especially the gruesome (and maybe disturbing) scenes of hell and the punishments for the sinful.
Kowloon Park
This is one of Hong Kong’s undiscovered wonders, right in the bustle of downtown Kowloon and a real haven from the busy city. It has a heated indoor pool and three outdoor pools all linked together by canals and waterfalls. A sculpture garden, fitness trail, traditional Chinese garden and aviary are also scattered about. Flamingos wade about in the lake. There’s a children’s playground too. Entrance is free, but you pay to use the swimming complex (just HK$9 for children).
Street Markets
The shops and shopping malls are excellent, but for an alternative experience nothing beats browsing the street markets of the city, where you can pick up all manner of items at bargain prices. Kowloon seems to have a different market on every corner: check out the Ladies’ Market on Tung Choi Street for bras, blouses, handbags and cosmetics, and Temple Street Market for clothes, watches, electric goods, CDs and household items. There are also several interesting places where you’ll more likely be a spectator than purchaser, such as the Jade Market on Kansu Street, and the Goldfish Market along Bute Street, where exotic fish are displayed in enormous coral-filled aquariums.
Best of all is the Bird Market on Yuen Po Street, little more than two narrow lanes lined with tiny shops, enclosed with red Chinese gates at one end. Bring the kids here to see the variety of exotic birds. Old men gather here to show off their traditional Chinese songbirds in lacquer cages: check out the operatic competition and the animated discussion of the warbling voices. A bird that impresses with its performance might be rewarded with a fat worm, offered up through the bars on the end of a pair of chopsticks.
 Teddy Bear Kingdom
An entire amusement park dedicated to teddy bears, this has a great playground and lots of fun and educational activities. There’s also an exhibit of rare bears from around the world, and a wonderful do-it-yourself zone where you can have a go at making your own personalised teddy. It’s located at Salisbury Place in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Jumpin’ Gym
This is a chain of American indoor amusement parks found in various locations across the city, including the City Plaza mall. It has amusements such as bumper cars, bowling games, a huge maze and other entertainment. Admission is free, with games all charged separately.
Ice Skating
Okay, it might seem a bit of an odd activity in Hong Kong, but there are two ice rinks with excellent facilities that can be a good respite from the heat. One if in City Plaza shopping mall, so you can leave the kids and shop ‘til you drop. The other is Festival Walk Glacier in Kowloon Tong.
TOP TEN things to do
- Take the Peak Tram up The Peak and admire the dazzling night views from the summit.
- Walk around The Peak circuit and admire the staggering views on all sides by day.
- Relive your childhood, and delight your kids, with a visit to Disney Land.
- Ride the Star Ferry across Hong Kong harbour.
- Explore the world around you at the interactive Science Museum.
- Have lunch at one of the city’s huge dim-sum palaces.
- Take the kids shopping at the street markets of the Yau Ma Tei district in Kowloon.
- Take yourself shopping and splurge in an upmarket shopping mall.
- Visit the panda enclosure at Ocean Park for a delightful look at these rare and engaging creatures.
- Take a ferry to one of the outlying islands and see another whole side to Hong Kong.
Events
The Hong Kong Chinese are a fairly hardworking and serious bunch, and they don’t spend the same time on the numerous festivals of other Asian destinations. Still, there are some great times of year to be in the city, with some festivals having origins that go far back into Chinese history.
 Chinese New Year is celebrated in late January or early February and is the most important festival on the calendar. Most locals get four days off work for family reunions and general feasting. There are numerous special events held over a two-week period which showcase a fascinating blend of old traditions in a modern setting. There’s usually a fantastic multimedia spectacular on the harbour, fireworks, dazzling street lighting and a Chinese New Year Parade. You might also want to visit the flower markets, which are absolutely bursting at the seams with all manner of blooms and arrangements, and are a sight to behold.
The Tin Hau Festival in late April or May is particular to Hong Kong and honours the Taoist Goddess of Fishermen. Junks are brightly decorated and sail to Taoist temples, where prayers and said for good fishing in the year to come.
In early June, the Dragon Boat Festival sees boat races at various locations around Hong Kong, with international teams joining in the fun and competition.
The Hong Kong Shopping Festival usually runs through all of July, a time when Hong Kong Chinese go even more shopping mad than usual. There are special promotions and sales everywhere, as well as late-night shopping and dining. The waterfront and other locations are enlivened by extravagant lighting and there are special laser and light shows some nights along the harbour front.
In late September, the Moon Cake Festival almost rivals Chinese New Year in popularity. It commemorates a fourteenth-century revolution during which lamps were light to signify the start of the revolt, and leaders smuggled notes to each other inside moon cakes. There are lanterns everywhere, and every shop is crammed with an assortment of moon cakes. There are processions, cultural shows, performances and dragon dances.
The Festival of Asian Arts in October or November is a major international event, with visiting troupes and artists from overseas. There is a whole variety of concerts, exhibitions and other shows.
WinterFest is Hong Kong’s answer to a city that never sees any snow, and runs from late November to early January. Many venues in the city centre get the Santa makeover, from Santa’s Post Office to Santa’s Chapel. A huge Christmas tree with 270,000 lights is the dazzling centrepiece. Christmas lighting also makes the usual neon skyline even more splendid.
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