Hong Kong is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. According to the Mercer Cost of Living Survey, In 2020 Hong Kong was the most expensive city in the world to live in, slipped to 2nd Spot in 2021.
Hong Kong is situated in South East Asia; it is as bigger as 6 times the size of Washington, D.C.
The climate in this part of the world is subtropical monsoon which means that during the spring to summer months, the weather is hot with frequent rains. From the months of August to October, the weather is pleasantly warm, but not humid, while from November to January, you will experience cool weather.
Hong Kong is a combination of hills and mountains, and low flatlands towards the northern part of the region, with a population of approximately 7.3 million people.
Of these 7.3 million residents, Chinese 92%, Filipino 2.5%, Indonesian 2.1%, other 3.4% (2016 est.)
October 1 is the national holiday of Hong Kong when it celebrates the anniversary of the founding of China.
When you think of Hong Kong, immediately what comes to mind is the bustling and robust economy ignited by strong tourism industry and a vibrant wholesale and retail economy. People from all over Asia come to Hong Kong because of the low prices of quality goods.
Of course, this prestige is now being threatened by the Bangkok prices. Still, Hong Kong today maintains its reputation as a top tourist destination.
Hong Kong has always been a dream tourist destination because it is an exciting and intense trading market. Mainland China has been Hong Kong’s trading partner for many years, and this is seen in the enormously wide range of Chinese goods in Hong Kong.
Travel to and from Mainland China has been steadily growing and from 4.5 million mainland tourists in 2001, this number has ballooned to 15.5 million mainland tourists.
Aside from being a shopping and dining paradise, Hong Kong has established itself as a premier business district in Asia.
In spite of being severely lacking in natural resources, Hong Kong has managed to establish itself as an independent and highly industrialized Asian city.
Visiting Hong Kong is usually a combination of shopping, dining, and recreational activities. The people of Hong Kong are very astute and business-minded. They are also very good at pampering you with fabulous spas and massages, spectacular shows and wonderful festivals.
Hong Kong is amazing any time of the year. It would really depend if you want to be part of the high tourist season usually in December to January, or during the more quiet months of the year. At any rate, there are things to do, and places to see all year round, so a visit to Hong Kong will never be boring.
Hong Kong Culture
Hong Kong has a rich, colourful past unrivalled by most other Asian countries and cities. It has been under British colonial rule for 150 years and has merged beautifully the best of eastern and western cultures. This is very evident in their buildings, festivals, traditions, and lifestyle.
The city landscape of Hong Kong is an exciting mix of ancient temples and steel skyscrapers. To fully understand and experience Hong Kong culture, you must try to blend in with the people, talk to them, and feel the city pulse. Then join in the festivities and rituals that abound all year long.
Hong Kong has many old Chinese temples all around the territory. Most Chinese in Hong Kong practice Buddhism as well as Taoism. Of the other deities, the most popular is Tin Hau. To see the solemn splendour of religion in Hong Kong, there are several monasteries that are open to the public while others are located in rather remote areas in Hong Kong like the Miu Fat Buddhist Monastery, the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden, the Che Kung Temple at Ho Chung, the Hung Shing Temple, and the Sha Tin Che Kung Temple.
Some of these temples date back to over 700 years old, so you can just imagine how solid and firm their beliefs are. Hong Kong is a trading port as well as a robust financial district. This has lead to the growth of deities that provide relief and comfort to those men who go out to sea, as well as those exposed to the harsh elements of Hong Kong weather.
In the field of arts and entertainment, Hong Kong boasts of a lively Chinese Opera, also known as the Sunkung Opera. Most Chinese opera tells tales of high drama accompanied by intense musical flair and dance. The film industry in Hong Kong has produced such world-class artists as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
There is two Chinese dance that is very popular among the tourists: the Dragon Dance and the Lion Dance. If you will notice, Chinese culture puts great emphasis on animals and their strengths. In the Dragon Dance, a display of power and art is depicted using a colourful serpentine-like animal with large claws, dancing to loud cymbals and drums.
The Lion Dance is used on many occasions because it is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to all the people who watch the dance.
If you have time, visit the Song Dynasty Town which will show you how life was in the early days of Hong Kong. It is an almost exact replica of life back then. This town is easily found in the Kowloon side of Hong Kong and will show you how the people then grew and cultivated their way of life. There have been many literature and artwork that have come out of this period.
Hong Kong is also famous for its herbal medicine. More commonly known as Chinese therapy, the number of concoctions made from all-natural herbs will astound you. You can buy medicines and supplements for pains, medical conditions like asthma and coughs, even how to lose weight and develop muscle. Almost everything under the sun has been covered with Chinese medicine.
Finally, no visit to Hong Kong is complete without participating in the tea ceremony. The Chinese love their tea and believe in its medicinal value. It is an age-long tradition that has spread to many parts of the world.
Hong Kong Festivals
A visit to Hong Kong will ultimately introduce you to some wonderful traditions and festivities. Despite being a cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong is a unique blend of ancient eastern values and modern western technology. Some of the entertaining festivities in Hong Kong are:
Chinese New Year
Unlike New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world, Chinese New Year usually includes a more spiritual theme coupled with amazing firework displays and parades.
You can enjoy the air scented flower markets that are abloom with all sorts of flowers, making the market seem like a veritable sea of colours. The light shows can be best enjoyed on top of a high peak or from the waterfront while the night parade is dazzling in its full Chinese splendour.
Every Chinese New Year introduces an animal that will depict the fortunes or misfortunes for the rest of the year, and so expect to see statues of the animal for that particular year.
Symphony of Lights
This has been called the “World’s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show” because of the 44 buildings that share in the celebration of each multimedia show.
Witnessing this spectacular show is an experience for even the most techie of us all. The sky is ablaze with coloured lights, searchlights and laser beams performing a dance to music, beautifully synchronized. The show has 5 themes – Energy, Heritage, Awakening, Partnership, and the Grand Finale.
The best way to see this show is from the harbour. You can take a cruise or go down to the waterfront.
Spring Lantern Festival
This is usually held in the first moon of day 15, or for the bemused – that’s around January or February of every year.
If it were to be compared to any other international celebration, the Spring Lantern Festival would be most like Valentine’s Day. Most spectacular is the numerous colourful lanterns that you can see from almost all corners of Hong Kong.
Dragon Boat Festival
In the Chinese calendar, this event is held on day 5 of the fifth moon. To translate, this would be around the month of June. This festival is also known as the Tuen Ng Festival and it honours the Chinese national hero, Qu Yuan. He drowned in the Mi Lo River as a message of disgust over the corrupt ways of the rulers around 2000 years ago.
The legend tells of how the villagers tried to save him by feeding the fish with dumplings so the fish would not eat his body. They also beat their drums repeatedly to scare off any fish away from his body.
As the main highlight of the festival, you will see dragon boats with men on them beating heavily on drums. These dragon boats are usually elaborately decorated in honour of the festivities. The dragon boat race in a competition to the finish line with huge crowds watching.
The main food at this event is, naturally, the dumpling, which is a delicious glutinous rice and meat snack wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed.
There are many other events to see in Hong Kong which is why it is a city that never sleeps, and always something exciting happening.
Hong Kong Attractions
There’s just too much to do in Hong Kong! The attractions and tourist destinations in Hong Kong are designed to peak the interests of all sorts of people. Here are some of the reasons why you should make Hong Kong your next vacation destination.
The Peak
When you’re feeling like you’re on top of the world, then you know you’re at The Peak of Hong Kong. From here, you can see for miles around – the beautiful city skyline, Kowloon, and Victoria Harbour.
The funicular that you will ride to get to the Peak is amazingly steep! The 45°angle climb on a tram will probably be the highlight of your Hong Kong visit. Imagine going on a tram that is being pulled by steel cables up to a height of 1,200 feet. When you look to your side, you will see buildings that look like they’re about to topple over. It’s a fantastic trip up and down!
When you get to The Peak, you will see one of Hong Kong’s newest landmarks, The Peak Tower. You can go tour the Peak Circle Walk or walk down Lugard Road Lookout to see a spectacular view of the harbour.
Victoria Harbour
Spend some time at Victoria Harbour at night and see a dazzling view of the city lights. There are ferries you can ride on to see the view from the water with a wonderful show of A Symphony of Lights which is a multimedia spectacle that highlights the 40 best skyscrapers of Hong Kong.
If you like, you can even ride a Chinese junk which is those low lying boats that travel down the harbour.
Hong Kong Disneyland
This is the first theme park of China and unlike other Disneyland around the globe, it is set with an amazing natural background of mountains and landscape. There are 4 main attractions here: Tomorrowland, Main Street USA, Fantasyland, and Adventureland.
If you have been to Disneyland USA, it is very similar except for the faces behind the counters which are charmingly Asian.
Ocean Park
This is the world’s largest oceanarium and is located on the south side of Hong Kong. It covers about 170 acres and has a cable car that connects the two sides of the park. Here at Ocean Park, children and adults can enjoy the Atoll Reef which is the biggest aquarium in the world and where you can see thousands of odd-looking sea creatures and some that you are familiar with as well. There is a fantastic roller coaster here called The Dragon which is one of the main attractions of the park
Other places to see in Ocean Park are the Wave Cove, Ocean Theatre, Ancient World, Kid’s World, and Film Fantasia.
Po Lin Monastery
This ancient monastery was a shrine in the beginning, but since many monks started settling here, it became a monastery. Here is where you will find the largest outdoor copper Tian Tan Buddha which towers at 111 feet high.
Interestingly, you can actually eat hot meals here but do not expect to have any meat in your meals as this is strictly forbidden.
There are many other places of interest to see in Hong Kong like Causeway Bay, Aberdeen, and Lantau Island. Hong Kong is truly a tourist’s dream holiday!
Nature Tripping in Hong Kong
With Hong Kong a busy and bustling city with very few natural resources, you would not expect there to be much nature tripping to be done. That would actually be a mistake because Hong Kong has wonderful beaches and gardens that have been attracting tourists and locals alike for many years. The beauty of these shores is that they are very safe for swimming since no large waves can come in due to the mountainous landscape.
Some of the more popular beaches and gardens are:
Repulse Bay
It may have a funny name, but Repulse Garden is one of the most amazing beaches in Hong Kong. You can either take a bus or jump into a cab to get to Repulse Bay. This is a long sandy beach with pristine blue waters. There are many water sports facilities here as well as dining and venues to just sit back and relax.
The reason for the strange name is because history will reveal that in the 19th century, the British were able to repulse pirates from coming in and destroying the area.
Turtle Cove Beach
This beach is on the western side of the Tai Tam Reservoir. Many fondly call it a baby beach because it has a short beach area of only 70 meters, which technically makes it a cove. The beauty about this cove is that here you can get away from all the rush and excitement of being in Hong Kong and relax in absolute solitude.
There are very few facilities here like toilets, changing rooms, showers, a drink kiosk, and a small playground with barbecue pits. It’s all very basic and back to nature.
Golden Beach
This beach is located along Castle Peak Road in New Territories. It is an artificial beach that stretches for half a kilometre only. It is fairly commercial with a mall, hotel, refreshment kiosks, and a volleyball court.
Among the various garden in Hong Kong, these are some of the more popular ones.
Hong Kong Park
Since Hong Kong has been described as a city flourishing with large skyscrapers and buildings, it is a breath of fresh air to stumble upon Hong Kong Park. This park has over 2000 rare plants and an aviary with over 800 birds. Weekends and holidays find this park amass with people just wanting to sit back and enjoy the beauty of lush green surroundings.
Victoria Park
In the city centre of Hong Kong island is Victoria Park. It was build and opened to the public in 1957 and named after British’s Queen Victoria. There are quite a number of recreational facilities like tennis courts, swimming pools, and jogging tracks. On special holidays like Chinese New Year, expect swarms of people to come and enjoy the park.
The Zoological and Botanical Gardens
This garden is situated in the Central District and many residents frequently stop and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, especially when the flowers are all in bloom. A famous Chinese exercise called Tai Chi is practised in this garden by the locals. It’s an enchanting slow-paced exercise for people of all ages.
Here in this lush garden of o0ver 1000 kinds of plants, 600 birds, 20 reptiles, and 90 mammals, you cannot find a more wondrous setting inside the city. It’s like a Shangrila that provides busy city folk a moment of serenity and tranquillity amidst all the chaos of daily life in Hong Kong.
Shopping and Dining in Hong Kong
Everyone comes to Hong Kong to shop. It’s a paradise of all sorts of items, Asian and international wares. Here, the reputation for reasonably priced goods has reached the far corners of the world.
In Hong Kong, there is no other way to describe shopping except to say that it is complete. There is almost no other country in the world that can offer such a wide range of jewellery, clothing, shoes, bags, furniture, appliances, toys, and just about any other product you can imagine.
The best part about shopping in Hong Kong is that it is organized. When you get to Hong Kong, there are specific areas you can go for the branded items, as there are specific locations for unbranded products that you might want to buy at an unbelievable price.
Let’s say for instance you would want to get trendy clothes, bags, and shoes to bring back home to sell. All you need to do is to visit the street markets in Tung Choi Street. Here haggling is an art form. It pays if you can speak Chinese, but if not, the vendors are still pretty easy to convince to drop their selling prices a few Hong Kong dollars.
For knick-knacks, there is no better place to go than Temple Street. This is a night market which makes it all the more interesting. The weather is cooler and the buys are aplenty. You will find it a little bit more chaotic, but if you keep your bag close to your chest and protected at all times, you should be able to enjoy your ultimate shopping extravaganza.
A visit to Hong Kong would not be complete without a quick stop to one of the fortune-tellers in Yau Ma Tei Street. It can be quite a thrill to find out what’s in store for you. It’s all in good fun, and obviously should not be taken too seriously.
Stanley Market is a historic area where you can find collectables, precious silk and artwork. This is the place to go for that extra special gift you want to take home to precious relatives and friends.
If you end up walking around for a few hours, you might be interested in sampling the delicious restaurants in Murray House or some of the dining shops along the waterfront.
Hong Kong is one big market, so the selection of places to go to buy souvenirs or gift items are amazingly wide. Other places to drop by are Li Yuen Street East and West, and Jardine’s Crescent.
For a splendid and sumptuous dining experience, Hong Kong still remains unchallenged. If there are great finds in shopping, there are equally fabulous places to dine which serve the most delectable dim sum, seafood, all the regional Chinese food including Cantonese food. There are over 11,000 restaurants in Hong Kong including some that serve Western-style dishes for those tourists who prefer to stick to the familiar.
To enjoy a quality culinary meal, just look for the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) sign. This will indicate to you that the preparation, freshness, and quality of the food served pass stringent annual assessments.
When dining in Hong Kong, try to avoid lunch (from 1 to 2 pm), dinner and weekend crowds because you would have a difficult time finding a table. Make a reservation especially if you plan to bring along a big group.
Walking in from the street in casual clothes is usually acceptable, and you should expect a 10% service charge added to your bill. Most restaurants offer free house tea which is quite refreshing and tasty, and in some cases, a free appetizer to start your meal right.
Shopping and dining in Hong Kong are two of the most memorable experiences when visiting this historic city. For these two reasons alone, going back again to Hong Kong regularly will be worth the trip.
Accommodation in Hong Kong
One of the easiest parts of planning a trip to Hong Kong is finding accommodations. Hong Kong is a top tourist destination; people from everywhere come to this amazing city by the droves. And to think, Hong Kong can accommodate all these tourists and businessmen easily.
If you just try surfing the internet for Hong Kong accommodations, you will find yourself bombarded with so many choices it can be blinding. How to choose which hotel to stay in is not so hard if you can break it down according to your needs.
There are so many economy hotels in Hong Kong, many of them call themselves budget hotels. In most cases, if you book a 3-day cheap tour from an ad in the newspaper, chances are high that you will end up with a room in a twin sharing budget hotel.
There’s nothing wrong with these hotels at all. However, if you are used to having amenities like a bathtub, hotel sports facilities, fully carpeted floors and the like, you might be very disappointed. Budget hotels are merely functional and great if all you intend to do there is spend the night, and the days are outside exploring the city.
If your plan is to get away and relax, you might be better off staying in a 3, 4 or 5-star hotel. To give you an idea of the room rates, a 3-star hotel will charge an average room rate of approximately $100 (US $) a night; a 4-star hotel might be around $150 (US $) a night while a 5-star hotel can be as steep as $300 (US $) a night. Of course, what you are paying for is more than just a room. You have quality high-end facilities, with luxurious pampering and care that you can only find in hotels like these. For a great selection of places to stay with discount prices visit the Hong Kong Hotel for more information.
Some of the more popular and reasonable hotels in Hong Kong are the Central Park Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Excelsior Hotel, Holiday Inn, Garden View, and many, many more.
If you prefer to have some privacy, there are short term apartments that come fully furnished, and equipped with all the conveniences of a home. Hostels and guest houses are also very easy to find.
Reservations are usually required to make sure that upon arriving at your hotel, you will not have any problems. If you are booking a vacation deal, make sure you have the hotel voucher before you even leave for Hong Kong.
There are also some wonderful resorts that you can stay in if you want to stay outside of the city. These are easily accessible through taxi, car or even ferry, depending on the exact location of your hotel.
One word of advise though if you plan to book a budget hotel room from an internet ad. Do make sure that you have all the information about the hotel. It would even be a good idea that you request pictures, and research if the hotel is accredited by the Ministry of Tourism. There are many hole-in-the-wall hotels that may not be up to your standards when you get finally get to your room, and it might be too late to start looking for alternative accommodations.
Research may take a little time, but it will save you from any form of aggravation when you are in the middle of a Hong Kong downtown street with no idea where to go for help.
Travel To Hong Kong
A plan to visit Hong Kong will never be hard to make because Hong Kong is a major tourist destination. This means that you can get to Hong Kong by almost any means possible. Hong Kong is the tourist destination in Southeast Asia, and the Hong Kong government has made sure that all roads lead to their beautiful city of lights.
Hong Kong By Air
When the new international airport in Lantau Island was completed in 1998, the Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Hong Kong became a major transport hub for China and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Practically all international airlines fly to Hong Kong, plus there are also Hong Kong airlines like Cathay Pacific, Air Hong Kong, Dragon Air, Hong Kong Airlines, and Hong Kong Express. It does not matter from what corner of the globe you are coming from, there will probably be a flight to Hong Kong, or at the very least a connecting flight that will take you to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong By Ferry
The ferries you see coming into Hong Kong usually come from Macau or mainland China. It will take about one hour if you are taking the Macau ferry. In the same manner, from Hong Kong, you can take a quick trip to Macau to see some of the sights there, or witness the Macau Grand Prix. You will need to have a valid visa to enter either Hong Kong or Macau.
Hong Kong by Road
Travelling from mainland China to Hong Kong by road is also very easy to do. There is an efficient road network that has been built connecting the two areas. Tourists can use any of the 5 checkpoints in the China-Hong Kong border, which includes the popular Lo Wu.
If you do not want to rent a car or taxi to bring you to Hong Kong, you can take one of the many buses that traverse the road network to Hong Kong. There are regular bus services to Hong Kong from Guangzhou Province, Shenzhen and many other major provinces in mainland China. On the trip back to mainland China, the bus service leaves from the New Territories, Kowloon, and Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong by Train
There is also a very well run railway system in Hong Kong that connects to mainland China. The regular trains pass through all the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, the capital city.
From Europe, it is possible to travel by train to Hong Kong. You will just need to take the Trans-Siberian train to Beijing, which then will bring you further down to Hong Kong.
As you can see, travelling to Hong Kong is made possible in all ways, land, sea and air. There is absolutely no reason not to visit the wonderful, vibrant city called Hong Kong, the shopping and dining jewel of Southeast Asia.
Travel Around Hong Kong
When you get to Hong Kong, you will be surprised at how easy it is to move around the territory. The city is known for its efficient business procedures, and most especially, its transport system. With the large number of tourists that flock to Hong Kong every year, it would be utter chaos if there was no method moving around since the area is pretty small compared to other hot tourist spots.
In most cases, walking around the city is the usual norm. In fact, traffic is not as bad as you would expect from a small city. Shopping streets and areas are only a hop, skip away from dining places, and your hotel; and the weather is normally not too hot to be enjoying a brisk walk around the area.
Hong Kong however is equipped with a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) which is a safe, efficient and cheap way to move around Hong Kong. It proves a reliable transport system to over 2.4 million people every working day! There are 6 lines in the MTR that are colour coded for easier access and manoeuvring.
The blue line is called the Island Line and is found on the north side of Hong Kong Island. The red line is Tsuen Wan Line and you can go to Sheung Wan and Chai Wan with this line. The orange line is the Tung Chun Line and services the same areas as the Airport Express line with the additional points of access to Lantau Island. The Airport Express allows travellers to go to the Hong Kong International Airport and downtown Central. The fifth line is the green line, which is also called the Kwun Tong Line and services the Yau Ma Tei and Tiu Keng Ling areas. Finally, the sixth line is the purple line or the Tseung Kwun O Extension which starts from Hong Kong Island, crosses the harbour to Po Lam in Kowloon.
Another way to go around the island is by ferry. The Hong Kong Ferry Service travels from mainland China to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, outlying islands including Macau.
There are basically two kinds of ferries in Hong Kong – the standard regular ferry and the upscale, more expensive ferries that provide more quality services.
There are different ferries that you can ride on to go to different areas in Hong Kong. The Star Ferry travels from Central and Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and the Outlying Island Ferries go from the Central Ferry to the tourist spots in Lantau, Cheung Chau, Lamma, and Peng Chau.
If you plan to visit Hong Kong, you need to get a visual picture in your mind. For instance, there are 4 major areas in Hong Kong. These are the Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, New Territories, and the Outlying Islands.
Hong Kong Island was once a desolate rocky and barren land, but with the strength of mind and spirit of the people from Hong Kong, it is now the Hong Kong you see most often. It has become an extremely successful project of turning nothing into something spectacular.
Kowloon, which means 9 dragons, is modern Hong Kong. You can shop and tour to your heart’s delight in Kowloon, and never tire of the area. The New Territories is where you can see birds migrate by the thousands. It is a reserve right now and there are organized tours you can sign on for. Otherwise, the area is off-limits to everyone but the birds.
The Outlying Islands are the beautiful bays and residences of many of the locals. Lamma is the 3rd largest island and people here live a simple life with fishing as their main source of income.
Once you have a mind’s eye picture of Hong Kong, you will never get lost in this modern-day paradise.
