On Walkabout

On Walkabout At: Hong Kong’s Tin Hau Temple

Published on September 2, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong, temples, Tin Hau Temple.

In Hong Kong there are literally hundreds if not thousands of temples dedicated to various Chinese Gods. For example there are approximately 60 temples in Hong Kong dedicated to just one of these ancient Chinese God, Tin Hau. Of all the Tin Hau temples there are none more well known then the Tin Hau Temple Garden located Tin Hau Temple Road on Hong Kong Island:

The present temple buildings date from 1868 while construction of the original temple dates back to 1747 which was when the current temple bell was constructed. Legend has it that this temple was built after an incense burner was found floating miraculously on the sea. This incident gave rise one of the pre-colonial names for Hong Kong Island, Hung Heung Le (Red Incense Burner Island). Above the entry door there are two fiery dragons that guard the temple to ward off evil spirits:

The temple is famous for the fine Shek Wan figurines on its and eaves and for the quality of its stone carvings around the entrance inside the temple , the main altar is dedicated to Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea and patron saint of seafarers, with side altars dedicated to Tsoi San, the God of Wealth. Tin Hau is by far the most popular Chinese God in Hong Kong due to the island’s history of fishing and seafaring.

Something of interest about temples in Hong Kong is that they are not just dedicated to one particular religion. This temple is primarily Taoist, but is also used for Buddhism, Confucianism, and ancestral worship rituals:

Other altars in the side halls are dedicated to Tin Hau and to the Goddess of childbirth:

Taoist temples are particularly colorful especially with the color red. The Taoist associate red with good luck which is why this temple decorated extensively with this color:

Within the temple there are several shrines to the black face Pau Kung, the Lenient Judge of the Underworld. He is worshiped in the hope that he will be merciful to the souls in his care:

It is popular with Taoist as well as with ancestor worship to make offerings to the Gods. The simplest offering is to burn some incense, but often Chinese can be seen making fruit offerings to the Gods:

Something I read that is unique to the Hong Kong Chinese is that they will actually leave take out food as offerings at the local temples. Besides being a popular location for the Hong Kong Chinese, Tin Hau Temple has become a growing tourist attraction. The increasing fame of this temple has in recent years caused the nearby MTR subway station to be named after the temple. This has only further helped tourists to find and experience this unique temple that provides further insight into the intriguing Chinese culture.

Eco-Loon James Lee Killed By Police In Hostage Standoff at Discovery Channel Headquarters

Published on September 1, 2010 in Eco-loons. 0 Comments Tags: Discovery Channel, eco-loons, James Lee.

Why can’t these loons just off themselves quietly in their own homes instead of creating mass panic and trying to kill others?

A man who railed against the Discovery Channel’s environmental programming for years burst into the company’s headquarters with at least one explosive device strapped to his body Wednesday and took three people hostage at gunpoint before police shot him to death, officials said.

The hostages — two Discovery Communications employees and a security guard — were unhurt after the four-hour standoff. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said tactical officers moved in after officers monitoring the gunman on building security cameras saw him pull out a handgun and point it at a hostage.

An explosive device on the gunman’s body detonated when police shot him, Manger said. Police were trying to determine whether two boxes and two backpacks the gunman had also contained explosives. [Associated Press]

So why was this guy so pissed off at the Discovery Channel, well they didn’t do enough to promote global warming alarmism:

“The Discovery Channel produces many so-called ‘Environmental Programs’ supposedly there to save the planet,” Lee said in an ad he took out in a Washington newspaper to promote the protest. “But the truth is things are getting WORSE! Their programs are causing more harm than good.”

In court and online, Lee faulted the Discovery Channel for shows as varied as “Future Weapons,” “It Takes a Thief” and “Planet Green.”

A lengthy posting that could be seen Wednesday on a website registered to Lee said Discovery and its affiliates should stop “encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants,” a possible reference to shows like “Kate Plus 8″ and “19 Kids and Counting.” Instead, he said, the network should air “programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility.”

This guy and Paul Watson could hang out and discuss how they would sterilize people. Oh and if you are wondering where he gets the time to conduct such protests, well he is unemployed and probably cashing government unemployment checks to fund his nonsense:

At Lee’s trial, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego.

Also is anyone surprised one of his heroes is Al Gore:

He said he was inspired by “Ishmael,” a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn, and by former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The bottom line here is that you have some loser inspired by mis-truths in Al Gore’s movie, which led to a fanatic devotion to the green faith which in turn led to violence.

Could you just imagine what the headlines would be if a global warming skeptic did this?

On Walkabout At: Hong Kong’s Happy Valley

Published on August 30, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, horse racing, horses.

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road

Published on August 27, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hollywood Road, Hong Kong.

Prior Posting: Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan Neighborhood

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Hollywood Road

From the Sheung Wan market area of Hong Kong my wife and I then headed up hill towards the antique district of the city that is located along Hollywood Road. This road is the second road to be constructed in Hong Kong with only Queens Road Central which runs through Sheung Wan being constructed before it. Hollywood Road today connects Sheung Wan with Central Hong Kong and all along this road it is lined with various antique stores:

Many people think Hollywood Road is named after Hollywood, California. However, Hollywood road actually pre-dates the film industry Hollywood by many decades. The street was first named in 1844 after the family home of Hong Kong’s second British Governor, Sir John Francis Davis. However, Hollywood Road and the Hollywood film industry do have one relation and that is the fact that parts of the movie The World of Suzie Wong was shot along Hollywood Road.

However, this road is not known for movies but for antiques:

The road has long been an antiques district because foreign merchants would put antiques up for sale for people returning to Europe to buy to either keep for their own private collections or sell in Europe. Many of the antiques are really quite stunning but the prices in this market are not for the casual shopper expect to pay many thousands of dollars for things as little as a vase:

The prices are not the only thing shoppers have to worry about, there are allegedly quite a bit of fraudulent antiques for sale in the market and thus only wise collectors can tell the frauds from the real deal:

Not having that kind of know how or money to go shopping for antiques, my wife and I just browsed through the various stores over flowing with goods. Even if we did by something, most of these antiques would be to big to fit in our luggage anyway.

Man Mo Temple

I would say the highlight of of Hollywood Road though, was not the antiques but the Man Mo Temple:

This traditional Chinese temple was quite elegant, which can be seen just by looking at the doors on the building:

The inside of the temple was just as elegant and really quite photogenic with its bright colors and smoky ambiance because of all the burning incense:

This temple was built to honor two Gods, the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). However, that doesn’t stop the temple from putting various other deities on display as well:

When we visited the temple it was actually quite busy with both tourists taking pictures, like myself and the various Chinese residents praying at the different shrines in the temple:

Here is where inside the temple people can leave prayers to the various Chinese gods:

In one of the rooms in the temple it actually holds the cremated remains of various people interned in the temple:

On the outside of the temple there is a small fireplace for people to burn prayers and offering of fake money to the dead:

This temple is also one of the oldest in the city because it was first constructed in 1847 just a few years after the construction of Hollywood Road. The temple is now one of the top historic sites in the city and is so popular that it has even been featured in a X-Box game.

Back to Central Hong Kong

After finishing our site seeing at the Man Mo Temple we then went to check out the world’s longest outdoor escalator:

This escalator runs in different directions during the day that corresponds with rush hour pedestrian traffic that have to commute up down the steep lower slopes of Victoria Peak this area of Hong Kong is comprised of. The escalator is officially known as the Central-Mid Levels Escalator and was officially opened to the public on October 15, 1994. The escalator is 800 meters long and rises 135 meters in altitude up the hill. An estimated 55,000 people use this escalator every day free of charge. To ride the whole way on the escalator takes about 20 minutes.

Along the way on the escalator my wife and I could see the various aspects of Hong Kong pass by us such as its various historic colonial era buildings now surrounded by modern skyscrapers:

We could also see the back alley ways turned into food stalls for pedestrians:

Of course there was plenty of Chinese restaurants and stores to see pass by us as well:

We eventually arrived back in Central Hong Kong where the escalator ends, thus completing our full day of touring around the various markets and sites in the Sheung Wan neighborhood. Though the markets in Korea such as Dongdaemun and Namdaemun are much larger then the ones in the Sheung Wan area, the area was still fun to wander around and experience the sights and smells of the great city of Hong Kong.

On Walkabout In: Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Published on August 24, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong, Sheung Wan.

Continuing my tour around Hong Kong my wife and I decided to go check out the markets located on the west side of Hong Kong island which is known locally as the neighborhood of Sheung Wan:

Sheung Wan is historically known to the people of Hong Kong as the location where the first British colonists arrived and began construction of what would one day become one of the world’s great cities. There is little of this colonial history left in this neighborhood because it has long been replaced with a variety markets that cater both to foreign and local tastes. The market most well known for catering to tourists is the Western Market which is housed in one of Hong Kong’s oldest market buildings:

The building that currently houses the market was first constructed in 1906 as a Harbor Office. However, land reclamation over the ensuing decades found the Harbor Office far from any harbor and was thus eventually transfromed into a food market. In 1988 it once again transformed into its current configuration as a market that caters to tourists. The market is easy for tourists to get to because the tram stops right in front of this hard to miss building. My wife and I walked inside the marketplace and to be honest we were not all that impressed:

The place was definitely touristy with its imitation British soldiers and phone booths:

But, what really got us was the smallness of the market and how overpriced everything was compared to other areas in Hong Kong. I guess we are so used to the giagantic markets that we have seen in Seoul that this just really fails to compare. The market had a few restaurants, food stalls, tourist stores, and a whole lot of clothing booths:

The coolest store I thought in the market was this military store filled with mostly knick knacks from the Chinese military:

The guy who ran this store had models of just about every piece of Chinese military equipment you can imagine. He even had Chines military uniforms for sale with matching model AK-47s’ to go with them:

If you want models of Chinese hand guns he has those too, though I wouldn’t recommend tourists buying these and trying to bring them back in your luggage though:

The most curious thing I saw for sale in the store though had to be the model of George Bush standing on the head of Saddam Hussein:

Why that was for sale in the store, I have no idea. A toy model glorifying President Bush was not something I expected to see in Hong Kong of all places. However, from the handful of conversations I had with English speaking Chinese residents in Hong Kong not one of them had a bad thing to say about President Bush. In fact many of them were actually quite happy that he attended the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. From my experience it seemed that people had an indifferent to some what positive opinion of President Bush. This is just a perception I received from my limited talks with Chinese residents, but it would be interesting to hear what long time expat residents of Hong Kong have to say about the Chinese views on President Bush.

Anyway we spent about an hour in the market building with most of my time consumed at the military store and my wife browsing through the clothing stores. After finishing up at the market we then made the short walk to Sheung Wan’s wholesale food market that filled with various shop catering to the city’s many restaurants. Of course plenty of sea food can be seen for sale at the wholesale market:

This market is supposed to be the best place to purchase shark fins to make shark fin soup from. The market also has many stores that sells a variety of wholesal herbs and ginseng for Hong Kong’s many restaurants and stores:

These stores were not unlike something you would see in Namdaemun Market in Seoul. However, here is something I have never seen in Namdaemun and that is deer antlers:

There were a handful of stores that specialized in selling deer antlers. A guy I was talking to at my hotel was telling me Sheung Wan is also the place if you know the right contacts to purchase many illegal animal products such as tiger bones or bear bladders. However, I saw nothing of the sort while visiting the market myself.

However, something that I did see that made feel like I was walking around Namdaemun was the amount of stores that sold Korean ginseng:

It wasn’t just in Sheung Wan that I saw Korean ginseng for sale. Just about any store in Hong Kong that specialized in selling herbs or ginseng would have Korean ginseng for sale:

This market with its various seafood, ginseng, herbal, and various other stores was much more interesting then the Western Market. This market had more of an Asian feel to it, but if you have been to markets in Korea you won’t be all that impressed. The major markets in Korea are definitely larger and better then ones I saw in Hong Kong, but the markets in Hong Kong were still fun visit though in order get that authentic Chinese marketplace experience.

After finishing our walkaround the Sheung Wan wholesale market, my wife and I decided it was time to go to Hollywood, but not the Hollywood your are thinking of.

Next Posting: Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road

On Walkabout At: The Historic Buildings of Central Hong Kong

Published on August 21, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong.

Prior Posting: GI Korea in Central Hong Kong – Part 1

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After visiting the observation platform on the top of the Bank of China Tower my wife and I then proceeded to walk over to St. John’s Cathedral which was located just a short walk from the Bank of China Tower:

St. John’s is the oldest Anglican cathedral in the Far East with it being constructed in 1849. The church’s construction was completed just eight years after the first British naval officers landed on Hong Kong island in order to not only provide religious services for the British colonists but to spread Christianity in the new territory as well. Here is how the church looked before the current metropolis of Hong Kong was built around it:

The building is constructed in the classical cross shape and serves as the Diocesan cathedral for the Diocese of Hong Kong Island. The most famous leader of the church would be Reverend Alaric P. Rose who conducted the morning service in St. John’s despite the fact that the Japanese were bombing Honk Kong during World War II and artillery shells were landing outside the cathedral. The British after a nearly three week fight to defend Hong Kong, eventually surrendered to the Japanese and Hong Kong remained occupied for four years until liberation. Reverend Rose would spend those four years in an internment camp with other allied prisoners before being liberated and returning to St. John’s. He other church clergy restored the cathedral and began to rebuild its congregation after the war. September 9th, 1945 was when the first Sunday church service was held after the liberation of Hong Kong.

I found the shutters on the side of the church to be quite nice:

The inside of the cathedral is really beautiful and has remained little changed from when the cathedral was first constructed:

I could find no information about the congregation of the church but from what I could see while visiting the cathedral, most of the people that were worshiping there were ethnic Chinese with a few caucasian people. Looking at the church’s website most of its services are in English with a few in Chinese and even one in Filipino due to the high number of Filipinos that work in Hong Kong. 1/5 of the non-Chinese that live in Hong Kong are in fact Filipinos.

Across a small park from St. John’s Cathedral is another piece of historic architecture, the Former French Mission Building:

The current structure was constructed in 1917 over the original structure that served as the home for the first British governor of Hong Kong back in 1843. A few years later the building served as the home for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong before being bought by the French Mission who renovated the building into the one seen today:

What the building looked like before the renovation can be seen in the prior historic picture of St. John’s Cathedral above that shows the Former French Mission building adjacent to it. The French Mission owned and operated the building until it sold the structure back to the Hong Kong government in 1953. To this day, all around the building evidence of its former owners can still be seen:

After the sell of the building the Hong Kong government used it as the headquarters for their education department, the district court, and now finally the Court of Final Appeal. Both of these buildings are quite historic with interesting histories that are definitely worth checking out if in Central Hong Kong. How the old blends so well with the new in Hong Kong is really one of the greatest strong points of this great city.

On Walkabout In: Central Hong Kong – Part 1

Published on August 18, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong.

Prior Posting: Hiking On Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak

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As I mentioned before riding the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak is quite possibly the most popular thing visitors to Hong Kong do. However, another must see in Hong Kong is without a doubt the downtown area of the city known simply as Central Hong Kong or just Central for short. Since my wife and I were staying in Wan Chai, getting to Central is a pretty far walk. So we decided to take the tram over to Central:

All the Hong Kong trams are double decker and are extremely cheap to use. It costs a flat fee $2 Hong Kong dollars to use the tram which is roughly like 25 cents no matter the distance you are going. My wife and I liked sitting on the upper deck because you get a great view of the city:

The trams are a great way to see Hong Kong on the cheap. My wife and I during our stay in Hong Kong rode the trams all over the city to see what the various neighborhoods were like:

Seating in the trams is pretty basic and unless it is rush hour it is pretty easy to find a seat:

For tall guys like myself I had to continuously avoid hitting my head on the ceiling of the tram because there wasn’t much clearance but for 25 cents to use the tram I really couldn’t complain about the minor inconveniences.

After about a 20 minute ride on the tram we arrived in Central Hong Kong to be welcomed by a number of tall buildings to include the tallest of them all the Two International Finance Center:

The building is the tallest in the city at 415 meters and a taxi driver earlier during our visit told us that the locals call it the “Big Erection” which made us chuckle.

Easily the strangest building we saw was not the “Big Erection” but the Lippo Centre:

Due to all the bulging glass on the building it is known as the “Koala Building” to locals because the bulges look like koalas hanging on a tree.

Not all the buildings in Hong Kong are flashy modern looking buildings. There are plenty of older buildings that remain in the city that integrate very well with the city’s modern skyline such as the Bank of China Building that was first constructed in 1950:

This building was once the headquarters of the Bank China before the completion of the Bank of China Tower nearby. The building is now just used as a sub-branch of the bank. This building is no where near being one of the tallest buildings in Hong Kong today but from 1950-1966 it was in fact the tallest building in Hong Kong.

Another example of a historic building in Central Hong Kong is the Legislative Council Building:

This building was first constructed in 1912 on reclaimed land. That is incredible considering the building is now in the middle of Central, which goes to show how much of Hong Kong island’s buildings are on reclaimed land. The building was originally built to house the Supreme Court but since 1985 has served as the home to the city’s Legislative Council. The memorial in front of the building is in honor of the people who died during World War II which saw the city occupied by the Japanese.

Hong Kong has lots of famous buildings but the Bank of China Tower in the middle of Central Hong Kong is definitely one of the most recognizable:

The inside of the building was quite nice and not all that busy:

The place was decorated for the Olympics that were going on during our stay in Hong Kong. The people in Hong Korea were quite excited about hosting the games:

The Bank of China Tower has a special elevator that takes visitors to an observation platform to get some great views of the city. Using the elevator is free and really anyone visiting Hong Kong should check it out. From the observation platform the building that stood out more then any other was of course the “Big Erection”:

The Bank of China Building as well as the Legislative Council Building are directly below the viewing platform:

This picture provides a good view of how much the Bank of China Building has been out grown by all its neighboring buildings since it gave up its title as the tallest building in Hong Kong in 1966. The picture also gives some perspective of how much land has been reclaimed over the years in Hong Kong considering the Legislative Council Building was originally built on reclaimed land.

The edge of this reclaimed can be seen where the ferry boats leave from Star Ferry Pier:

As can be seen in the picture the reclaiming of land in Hong Kong continues. It makes me wonder if one day we will see Hong Kong island connected to the mainland if so much reclamation of land continues? Across Victoria Harbor the skyline of the Kowloon peninsula could be seen:

There were plenty of cruise boats I could see at anchor in the harbor but the boats I saw more then any other were these old looking Chinese junks cruising across the harbor:

Some other buildings of interest that I could see from the lookout was the British Government House:

Back during the British colonial days this is where the chief British executive of Hong Kong lived. The building was first constructed in 1855 but was remodeled during the Japanese occupation during World War II which is why the building does not currently look like neo-classical British architecture.

St. John’s Cathedral however is pure British architecture:

This building is the oldest church in the Far East with it first being constructed in 1849. After seeing the cathedral from above we decided after exiting the observation deck that we would next head over to this historic building.

Next Posting: GI Korea in Central Hong Kong – Part 2

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak Trail

Published on August 15, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong, Victoria Peak.

Prior Posting: On Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak

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For those visiting the summit of Hong Kong’s beautiful Victoria Peak, it is also well worth taking a hike along the trail that runs along the side of the peak that provides even more spectacular views of the stunning skyline and landscape of Hong Kong. The trail begins behind the massive Peak Galleria shopping center that visitors taking the tram exit from. The trail is well maintained and surrounded on each side by thick vegetation:

The summit of Victoria Peak is 552 meters with the trail just below it traveling around the mountain at around 500 meters in altitude. This altitude provides some great views of the city:

The building that stands out more then any other along the peak trail is without a doubt the 2 International Finance Centre which at 415.8 meters is the tallest structure in Hong Kong and the fourth tallest building in the world:

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre was another famous landmark of Hong Kong that was easily visible from the trail:

The Central area of Hong Kong which is dominated by the Bank of China Tower:

The Bank of China Tower was designed by famed American architect I.M. Pei and construction of the tower was completed in 1990. The building at the time was the tallest in Hong Kong at 367.4 meters. However the building is very controversial in Hong Kong due to its poor Feng Shui characteristics. The Chinese practice of Feng Shui is used by nearly everyone in Hong Kong, however The Bank of China Tower was designed without regarding any principles of Feng Shui. Because of this many people in Hong Kong consider the building to be very unlucky.

Besides these buildings, every other major building in Hong Kong can be seen from the trail as well:

Besides being able to see the buildings on Hong Kong Island the buildings on the Kowloon peninsula were also readily visible to include this massive building under construction on the peninsula:

I have no idea what this building is but it appears that it is going to easily be one of the tallest buildings, if not the tallest in the city once its construction is completed.

As I continued down the trail less of Hong Kong’s skyline became visible as I walked towards the outskirts of the city:

Besides the construction of new buildings, from the trail I could also see a massive new bridge being constructed as well:

The further I continued down the trail, more the high rise apartments began to thin out:

The trail was also becoming even more thickly forested on each side:

It is a multi-day hike to complete the entire trail so after walking for two hours I then decided to turn back around and walk back towards the Peak Galleria where I started the walk from. From the Galleria I looked back toward the terrain the peak trail traverses around:

The trail comes out to over 50 kilometers which if you are fit could be covered in two days. If I had the time I would definitely hike the whole trail. However even from the short distance I covered, the views were great and the fact I was surrounded by such nature in the midst of one of the most densely populated places on Earth was quite an incredible feeling. If you have time definitely take a short walk on the peak trail or even better yet hike the entire thing. It is the best way to get an overhead view of this incredible city.

Next Posting: Central Hong Kong – Part 1

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak

Published on August 12, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong, Victoria Peak.

Prior Posting: The Wan Chai Neighborhood

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Probably when most people think of Hong Kong the picture of the city that comes to mind is of the fabulous view of the cities skyline from the famed Victoria Peak. Because of this Victoria Peak is often the first destination tourists in the city head for and I was no different. However in my case I definitely had some concerns if I would be seeing any views at all because of the clouds that remained from the typhoon that kept bring in clouds that were covering the peak:

I saw a break in the clouds that appeared would give some open views from the peak and thus immediately headed over to the tram terminal that takes visitors to the summit of the mountain within minutes. The tram terminal is located well within the city and was actually a little tricky to find, but I eventually found it. After buying a ticket the terminal opens into a museum where visitors can read about the history of the Peak Tram while they wait for their scheduled train ride:

The Peak Tram has been taking visitors to the top of the summit of Victoria Peak since 1888 and has become an icon and major tourist attraction of Hong Kong since then:

After checking out the museum I then went and waited for my scheduled tram that was due to appear any minute through the maze of buildings outside the terminal:

Like clockwork the tram arrived on time and a mad rush to secure a good seat on the tram by all the tourists like myself began:

The tram can seat 95 people as well as 25 more people standing up. I don’t know if the tram was at its maximum capacity or not, but it was packed:

Fortunately I was able to get a window seat with a great view of the ride. The track is 1,365 meters long and is covered by the tram in approximately seven minutes. The tram at first winds through the densely populated city before starting a steep climb up the side of the thickly forested mountain.

Below you can see a Google Earth image of the course the Peak Tram takes as it speeds up the side of Victoria Peak:

At its maximum slope up the mountain, the tram is actually at a 27 degree incline. I could definitely feel the incline as the tram traveled at a surprisingly fast speed up the mountain. It was a fun ride to say the least.

Once the tram pulled into the upper tram terminal everyone piled out of the tram car and exited into a large shopping mall:

At times Hong Kong can seem like just one endless shopping mall and visiting Victoria Peak is no different. The shopping mall pretty much had all the standard stores except for a very cool EA Sports display where you could play a number of new and even classic EA Sports games:

It took me a little while to get out of the shopping mall but I finally escaped it and entered into a large courtyard outside overlook by the large shopping center:

Across the courtyard from the shopping center I had just exited was yet another shopping center:

How many shopping centers does the top of a mountain need? Obviously one wasn’t enough. Fortunately the powers that be in Hong Kong decided to add a visitor center for tourists amidst all the shopping malls on top of the mountain:

Unfortunately the visitor center was very small since it was in an old tram car and generally not very informative. It is a shame such a famous landmark such as Victoria Peak has such a poor visitor center for tourists. Besides the visitor center there was another structure on top of the mountain that wasn’t a shopping mall:

This older building was a restaurant of some kind that was not open at the time I visited the peak. However, near the restaurant there was quite a good view of the south side of the island that was fortunately visible since the clouds had lifted momentarily:

There was also I nice view of other peaks that soar over Hong Kong Island:

Besides being a tourist icon Victoria Peak is also home to many of Hong Kong’s rich and elites that live in homes and apartments that hug the various hillsides of the peak:

Who can blame the rich and elites for wanting to live on the peak with views like this available?:

This above view is from near the tram terminal, the best place to view the city is from the Lion’s Gate, which is a short walk from the terminal:

Here is the beautiful view of Hong Kong through the parting of the clouds that was fortunately taking place while I was visiting the peak:

Hong Kong definitely has one of the most scenic skylines in the world but I rank it third on my all-time personal list of best skylines. My second favorite skyline would be the skyline of New York which is only topped by the beautiful views of downtown Sydney, Australia across its wonderful harbor.

Anyone else have any recommendations for their all-time favorite skylines?

Next Posting: Hiking Around Victoria Peak

On Walkabout In: Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Published on August 9, 2010 in China. 0 Comments Tags: China, Hong Kong, Wan Chai.

After arriving in Hong Kong and getting some sleep the next morning I got up early and took a walk around the Wan Chai neighborhood I was staying in. Wan Chai is located near the center of the north shore of Hong Kong island:

Historically Wan Chai has been known as a seedy area for sailors visiting the city looking for a good time. This seedy image was only reinforced with the release of the movie The World of Suzie Wong. It would go on to be the principle red light district for US servicemen on R&R during the Vietnam War as well. However, this seedy image isn’t very noticeable anymore. I didn’t see one prostitute the whole time I stayed in the area not that I was looking for them.

Anyway I started my walk from my hotel, The Charterhouse which is the tall white high rise building pictured below:

I have never been to Hong Kong before so this was the first time I have ever walked in the city and my initial impressions of the neighborhood was how this place felt like Seoul, Korea with Chinese signs everywhere. The place was busy with lots people, bright advertising signs and noisy traffic:

However, once I saw the trams and double decker buses rolling down the street it quickly differentiated Hong Kong from Korea:

I decided to walk around the neighborhood and back to my hotel just to get familiar with my surroundings. I walked towards the harbor and near the water there is a major road that is lined with some of the larger buildings that make up the famous Hong Kong skyline:

The biggest building I could see was the Central Plaza building that was once the highest building in Asia between 1992 and 1996. Today it is just the second highest building in Hong Kong:

The building is 378 meters high and serves as the office building for such companies as Nvidia, ExxonMobile, Chevron, and Sun Microsystems. I thought it was a pretty nice looking building which would be a reoccurring thought throughout my trip to Hong Kong because many of the buildings were in my opinion quite impressive and inspiring to look at. Across the major through road and adjacent to Victoria Harbor on reclaimed land, the city of Hong Kong has constructed a huge convention center called the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC):

This structure was still undergoing some construction, but it also looked quite impressive and was absolutely huge. From the shore I started walking back into the city and passed a street lined with a large store selling Chinese antiques:

I looked in the store and it appeared to be quite upscale with people browsing at the antiques in business suits so I felt it was best if I just kept moving along. As I walked into the city I came to the main Hennessy Road that runs through the heart of Hong Kong. Looking down the road I could see into the Central area of Hong Kong where most of the main buildings in the city are located:

From here I started walking back towards Wan Chai and wouldn’t you know it, I ran into a Outback Steakhouse:

Is there any place in the world besides Australia that doesn’t have Outback Steakhouses now? Hong Kong pretty much has every fast food outlet you can imagine as well, but the whole time I was in Hong Kong I didn’t bother eating any fast food because that is not what I came to Hong Kong to do. The whole time in the city I ate at Chinese restaurants which were quite good.

While walking back to the hotel I did see this older building which I thought was pretty cool looking:

One of the interesting things about Hong Kong is how the old and the new buildings in the city actually integrate quite well with one another. There are however in Wan Chai a number of decrepit buildings that appeared that they should be condemned. So there are a lot of cool buildings to look at in Hong Kong, but there are also a number of eyesores which was something I was surprised to see. However, there was much more of the city left to check out, which I was definitely looking forward to.

On Walkabout

On Walkabout At: Hong Kong’s Tin Hau Temple

Eco-Loon James Lee Killed By Police In Hostage Standoff at Discovery Channel Headquarters

On Walkabout At: Hong Kong’s Happy Valley

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road

Hollywood Road

Man Mo Temple

Back to Central Hong Kong

On Walkabout In: Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

On Walkabout At: The Historic Buildings of Central Hong Kong

On Walkabout In: Central Hong Kong – Part 1

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak Trail

On Walkabout On: Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak

On Walkabout In: Wan Chai, Hong Kong

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