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Aberdeen lies tucked away on the southern reaches of Hong Kong Island.
Two centuries ago it was a refuge for pirates. Later it became a
centre for incense production. Later still its name - Heung Gong,
or Fragrant Harbour was anglicised and applied to the whole city.
More recently it was a simple fishing village. Today Aberdeen is
a modern town, with streets full of high-rise buildings, and its
vibrant waterfront home to the yachts of Hong Kong's rich and famous.
Traditional and often impoverished ways of life still prevail, however,
none more striking than the harbour's hundreds of junks and sampans,
old-fashioned boats which provide floating homes for thousands of
people. Taking a ride on one of the boats is a popular activity
- you will inevitably be approached by people trying to sell you
a trip - but try to stick with licensed operators. Alternatively
take a shuttle boat to one of the harbour's famous'floating restaurants',
vast and gaudily decorated affairs aimed unashamedly at tourists,
but fun nevertheless.
Other things to see include the traditional boatyards of Ap Lei
Chau across the harbour (access by boat or bridge) and the Tin Hau
Temple (1851), the latter dedicated to the Queen of Heaven (or Goddess
of the Sea), protector of seafarers. A statue of the goddess stands
inside the temple flanked by two generals: one who can hear clearly
and another who can see clearly. Hung Hsing, another small temple
at the southern end of the main street, is also worth visiting.
Hong Kong Science Museum is situated in a suitably futuristic-looking
building on the eastern fringes of the Tsim Sha Tsui district, and
has managed in a short time - despite its slightly outlying location
- to become one of the city's most popular sights. Children are
likely to find it especially appealing. You could happily spend
several hours exploring its three floors, either casting your eye
over the 500 major exhibits or getting to grips with some of the
many interactive and audio-visual displays. It's well worth avoiding
some of the busier periods - mid-morning and most of Sunday - when
you may have to wait in line for some of the more popular exhibits.
Almost anything with an even vaguely scientific bent qualifies for
attention. The workings of the most basic everyday appliances are
explained - items from your kitchen or bathroom, for example - as
are the intricacies of more advanced disciplines such as robotics
and computer science. Special attention is paid to branches of technology
beloved of Hongkongers, notably cellular phones and fax machines:
the city has the world's highest per capita number of cellular phones
and pagers - 680,000 in 1995, or one for every five people - and
the world's second highest rate of fax penetration (over 270,000
dedicated lines). Scientific history is not forgotten, however,
and the museum's exhibits include a miniature submarine, several
early computers and the DC3 aeroplane that launched the now famous
Cathay Pacific airline.
Shopping and high-rise modern architecture can only hold your attention
for so long, which makes Hong Kong's principal park a welcome and
rather unexpected relief from the city's many urban distractions.
Spread over 10ha, the park opened in 1991 on the site of the old
Victoria Barracks, and in its layout deliberately avoided a strictly
naturalistic appearance in favour of a partially artificial approach
to landscaping (much of the area's original vegetation had long-since
vanished in any case). Skilful design work has artfully folded the
park into the contours of the surrounding hillside, dramatically
juxtaposing the ranks of skyscrapers on one side with almost open
hilly slopes on the other.
Among the park's many features are lakes, artificial waterfalls,
numerous plants (look out for the giant bamboo in particular), a
visual arts centre, children's playground, restaurant, viewing tower,
tai chi garden and the outstanding Museum of Tea Ware in Flagstaff
House at the park's northern tip. Museum aside, the park's highlights
are its many peaceful corners, a large aviary and a modern conservatory,
the last - the largest in Southeast Asia - home to 200 plant species
divided into tropical and semi-arid varieties. The still more impressive
aviary repli- cates a tropical rainforest habitat, tree-high walkways
bringing you into close contact with some 150 species of (and 500
individual) exotic and brightly coloured birds as you drop down
through the complex.
HongKong Space Museum opened in 1980 and was an immediate success,
especially among children, thanks largely to its fascinating exhibits
and the wide range of its mainly hands-on displays. It has three
principal sections: the Hall of Astronomy, the Hall of Space Science
and the combined Planetarium and Omnimax Theatre (the Space Theatre).
Most people are tempted by the last, and in particular by the Omnimax
Theatre, where special-format films - mostly on space, sport and
the natural world - are shown on a huge screen. The Theatre has
around seven shows daily (except Tuesday), including some in Cantonese,
for which headphone translations are available.
Elsewhere, the exhibits of the Space Science hall include pieces
of moon rock, a mock-up of the Space Shuttle and the original Mercury
space capsule used by astronaut Scott Carpenter in 1962. A variety
of video, push- button and advanced audio-visual displays provides
plenty of absorbing and educational titbits, with a particular emphasis
on Chinese contributions to astronomy across the centuries.
Among other things you learn that it was the Chinese who first recorded
Halley's Comet, were the first to use gunpowder (and thus lay the
foundations of rocket science) and the first to map the movement
of the heavens.
Other exhibits concentrate on solar science, providing background
to phenomena such as sun spots and solar eclipses. There's also
the chance to look through a telescope specially adapted for looking
at the sun.
Hong Kong's oldest and most famous temple (cl847) is dedicated to
two gods, one civilian, the other military: Man, or Man Cheong,
the god of literature, and Mo, or Kuan Ti, the god of war. Figures
of each stand on the main altar, Man dressed in green holding a
writing brush and Mo arrayed in red brandishing a sword. Man (literally
'civil') was a 3rd-century BC Chinese statesman, Mo ('militay'),
a 2nd-century AD Chinese soldie. Man is the traditional protector
of civil servants, Mo - worshipped by Taoists and Buddhists alike
- the guardian of armies, policemen, secret societies and pawnbrokers.
Lesser gods lie ranged beside the temple's altar statues, notably
Pao Wong, the god of justice, and Shing Wong, a god who keeps watch
over the surrounding district.
A visit here is a must if you want to savour the flavour of a Taoist
temple (albeit one with Buddhist overtones), the atmosphere mystical
but oddly casual, the dusky air pungent with the scent of incense
burning from huge coils hung from the roof. A bell and drum by the
entrance sound when a prayer or offering is made - usually fruit
or sticks of incense. The large bell, cast in Guangzhou (Canton),
dates from 1846, its smaller neighbour, on the left, from 1897.
Also look out for the two antique sedans under glass by the altar,
originally used to carry the statues of Man and Mo during ceremonial
processions.
Visitors who take no other excursion in Hong Kong often make the
effort to see Stanley, a coastal village on the southern side of
Hong Kong Island. Most are drawn as much by the scenery en route
and the reputation of its famous market as by any preponderance
of attractions to visit or activities to do once they get there.
One of the island's oldest communities, Chek Chue (Robber's Lair),
as it was then known, already had a population of around 2,000 when
the British arrived in 1841 . Later it became an important British
military garrison, becoming involved in bitter fighting during the
Japanese invasion in 1941 . The poignant and beautifully kept Military
Cemetery, a short walk north of the village, is well worth a visit.
Most people come here for the market, however, located just up the
road from the harbour. Over the years it's become known for its
bargain clothes, though these days prices are not as keen as they
were. It's still fun to browse, however, and the stalls are as good
a place as anywhere in Hong Kong to buy souvenir T-shirts or inexpensive
Chinese artefacts and household goods. After seeing the market wander
down to Stanley's waterfront Main Street, lined with bars, pubs
and restaurants popular with ex-pats. At its western end stands
the Tin Hau Temple (1767), one of the oldest in Hong Kong. Around
a kilometre to the south lies St Stephen's Beach, which is nicer
than the more convenient Stanley Main Beach.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art opened in 1989 as part of the city's
superb new Cultural Centre. Ranged over five floors, it is divided
into six separate galleries, the majority of which are devoted to
Chinese art and artefacts from the past. Room is also found, however,
for a range of contemporary and Western art, as well as for a variety
of temporary exhibitions.
Among the art galleries the undoubted highlight is the third floor's
Historical Pictures Collection, home to more than a thousand paintings,
drawings and prints devoted almost entirely to topographical scenes
of Hong Kong and its immediate surroundings. Among them is the first
known painting of Hong Kong, an Aberdeen waterfall scene executed
by William Havell in 1816. This and other paintings provide a fascinating
documentary narrative of Hong Kong over the decades, from the days
when it amounted to little more than sandy beaches and a handful
of waterfront buildings. Elsewhere, be certain to some spend time
in the gallery devoted to Chinese antiquities, a collection containing
over 3,000 wide-ranging artefacts. Of panicular interest are two
Tang Dynasty tomb guardians (AD 618-906), pot-bellied figures in
the form of mythical beasts. Also look out for the almost translucent
rhino-horn cups, prized for their reputed ability to advertise the
presence of poison.
Other exhibits trace the development of porcelain and crafts such
as bamboo carving, lacquer work and metal casting, while the Decorative
Arts section contains, among other things, mouthwatering displays
of jade, ivory, glassware and Ming Dynasty ceramics.
The Star Ferry has linked Hong Kong Island and Kowloon since 1898.
For just a couple of dollars you are treated to one of the world's
most spectacular ferry rides, the robust little green and white
boats dodging the intense water- borne traffic on what was once
the world's finest and busiest deep-water anchorage.
Strictly speaking there are several Star Ferries, each plying slightly
different routes across the harbour. The route everybody rides,
however, is the one between the piers on Kowloon close to the Cultural
Centre and the heart of the Central district on Hong Kong Island.
The trip takes around seven minutes, and you can choose between
upper and lower decks, the upper deck costing a few cents more.
You enter the quay via coin-operated turnstiles, so be sure to have
some change, and then wait with the chaotic-looking crowds for the
next boat (queue at a ticket office by the turnstiles if you have
no change). If boats are full - and numbers are monitored - simply
wait a few minutes for the next ferry.
Once underway it's difficult to know where to look. Behind and in
front of you skyscrapers rise from the water- front, combining with
the hills behind to produce one of the world's most spectacula city
skylines. Below and all around you the water is alive with countless
boats, while on board the massed ranks of passengers provide a people-watching
spectacle in their own right.
Since its opening in 1977, Ocean Park has mushroomed into a vast
complex of attractions overlooking the sea on the southern side
of Hong Kong Island. Foremost among these are an amusement park,
oceanarium and open-air theme park, an ensemble which together attracts
well over three million visitors a year. It's a great place to visit
with children, offering enough to keep you occupied for at least
a day. It's also busy, however, especially in summer and at weekends
and public holidays, when the chances are you will have to wait
in line for the most popular rides.
You start at Lowland, offering many attractions, including parks,
gardens, a butterfly house and an adventure playground. From here
an exhilarating cable-car ride takes you over the sea to the Headland
section, where you'll find many of the amusement park rides (notably
the electrifying Crazy Galleon and 80kph Dragon roller-coaster),
the Ocean Theatre {home to performing dolphins, killer whales and
high divers), a large aquarium, a seal and penguin sanctuary, and
the 72m Ocean Park Tower (which offers superb views of the coast).
From here you ride down the world's longest outdoor escalator to
the Middle Kingdom, a theme park which employs arts, crafts, live
theatre, opera performances and other displays designed to provide
a 'living history of Chinese culture'. Adjacent to Ocean Park and
under the same management lies the equally popular Water World,
a fabulous collection of giant water slides, chutes, swimming pools
and other watery attractions.
Few cityscapes are as spellbinding as the view of Hong Kong from
the Peak (552m), the green-swathed mountain that looms above Central's
tight-packed ranks of skyscrapers. Cool, clear and removed from
the city's bustle, the area has long been one of the city's most
exclusive retreats: the former British Governor had a summer residence
here (damaged during the Japanese occupation) while the handful
of grand houses scattered across the slopes are by far the city's
most coveted.
A path was cleared to the summit as early as 1859 - a sedan chair
was then the preferred mode of transport- while road access was
secured in 1924. Most people today ride up on the famous Peak Tram,
built in 1888, an impossibly steep but wonderful way to reach the
Peak Tower, a small complex of shops, caf??|s and other minor attractions
at the tram's upper terminal. Sit on the right of the tram for the
best views, and be certain to wait for a clear day to make the trip.
Do not leave the Tower complex - which is a little disorientating
- without riding the escalators to the outdoor observation deck:
the views are breathtaking.
Across the road from the Tower lies the Peak Galleria, another mall
complex, though your time will be better spent walking all or part
way around the Peak. The full walk takes around an hour, but is
easy and straight- forward, and the views, not to mention the lovely
wooded countryside, are a revelation.
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