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This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s Guide to Hong Kong
The British plunged their claws in Hong Kong in stages. In 1842 they colonized the island of Hong Kong; 1860 without the confiscation of the Kowloon Peninsula, and in 1898, the British leased 99-year-old in the new territories. In less than 60 years they had increased the tenfold colony area. (Although, of course, they had to return it, however, according to their rental conditions, in 1997.) However, Hong Kong is mainly water. Its marine area is about 1.5 times larger than its land area, 1,640 square kilometers in 1,114 square kilometers.
With water, then. And also very hilly. Early colonial administrators thought that barely 20 percent of the archipelago was suitable for agriculture. It was much better to be a pirate than a farmer in those days: rocky limaners at the base of clean rocks made for good concealment, not for good divisions. When one of the most notorious pirates in the 19th -century region, Cheung yes Tsai surrendered to the authorities, he was discovered that he was commanded by about 280 ships thrown, 2,000 weapons and 25,000 men.
The spread of steel and glass towers that came in the second half of the 20th century contributed another type of verticality to supplement that of mountain landscape. Hong Kong today has more skyscrapers than any other city on Earth – amazing, indeed, when considering how little flat land it has to set them all.
For much of its existence, Hong Kong was a place noticed not looking from above, as we tend to do these days, but looking from a position near the sea level. This point of view has increased more and more unknown – which is in itself a great reason to seek it. Here are three of the best ways to do this, from the cheapest to the most expensive.
Star -wag
Ferry Star has been a beloved Hong Kong institution since 1898, though its origin returns a quarter of a century. A steam ferry service throughout Victoria Harbor was launched in 1873, but soon closed at the request of the British Consul in Canton (now Guangzhou), which worried that it would encourage colonists scattered by Hong Kong to come and drink and combine and otherwise make a concern in its own piece. However, Star Ferry would soon become quite an essential feature of the city’s infrastructure.
The name is from Tennyson’s poem “Bar Crossing”, which considers the journey from this life to another by a boat metaphor (“Sunset and Star Evening, and a clear call to me!”). The most famous of the ferries, of course, was Charon, who followed the souls beyond the Styx River of Hades. Can there be a weak spiritual aspect for a journey between the center and Kowloon aboard the star ferry? Unexplained engine noise. Flying simplicity, a-in-b of the road. The increasingly wintering distance between the two shores, where your small adventure began and where, very soon, it must end. In the case of Victoria Harbor, this last point is a matter of measurable fact as well as metaphorical love.
Although the ferry has not changed much in 127 years-it remains essentially the same graceful issue, with two levels, double, green and white that was always-city has changed beyond recognition. Today’s passengers – about 26 million a year – can take picturesque views of the excellent city horizon, which is especially gorgeous to come to sunset. The ferry port was more than two kilometers wide. Now, thanks to land advertising, it is less than half of this. So if Star Ferry has a message as well as a goal, maybe it’s something along the lines: “Enjoy every moment of your short trip.
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Regular star ferry services run daily (including public holidays) between Central and Tsim Sha tsui, and Wan Chai and Tsim Sha tsui
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Both roads see ferries that operate every six to 20 minutes, depending on the day and time. Check the schedule here
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Tickets from HK $ 2.80 for Children and $ 4 HK for Adults
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Tour with a long port hour are also available for $ 200 HK ($ 26/20 pound) for adults
bumps
No 19th -century watercolor or engraving or carving describing a harborside interaction between British traders and Chinese locals was complete without a dozen or more junks that bobing exactly in the background. The distinctive silhouette of the unilateral jumper and rotated with elegant sailing similar to the fans in numerous masters-made a durable Hong Kong emblem. So it remains, although the cast is a species critically endangered in these waters nowadays. You are forced to see some of them and about Victoria Harbor, but these will almost certainly be copies, not the real thing. The last junk more or less authentic that is still in action in Hong Kong is with the sweet name Du. These junks – including – are available for tours for anything and private statute. Snobs can roll their eyes with the prospect of such an enterprise. Leave. A powerful magic bursts through those brilliant red (if simply ornamental) red sails, and to see the sun set above the port and a brilliant crowd of light lights in the central and kowloon from the deck of a junk is an experience not to be rejected by the hand.
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Dukling sails at 4.30pm, 5.30 in the afternoon, 6.30 in the afternoon and 7.30 afternoon from the Star Street to Tsim Sha tsui (opposite Starbucks)
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The journey takes 45 minutes to an hour. Dukling generally follows a circular road about Victoria Harbor, offering panoramic views of Hong Kong and Kowloon Island
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Tickets from $ 150 HK for children and $ 220 HK for adults, including a comment on drinks and guides in English and Mandarin. Tickets here
yacht
Jews are a convincing gang, as a whole. They like their clubs, their races, their grogeus, their grub, their strands. And there is no lack of yachts in Hong Kong. According to the maritime department, more than 10,000 pleasure crafts are registered in the city. A sense of community and society, such as yachts they usually enjoy is a good thing; However, perhaps more convincing for all the reasons to get in water-especially in a city so full of people that Hong Kong is not to approach a group of souls with the same mind, but, on the contrary, to leave as far as other human beings. Many of the most beloved points, the least broken and the least populated – or completely unpaid – in Hong Kong are only accessible from the water. Archipelago includes 263 islands. Knowing which one is best for what is essential, whether it is dolphins, immersion, boats, eating on the beach with stylish or, indeed, the lack of anything except the sun and sea breeze.
There are many yacht card companies in possession of that knowledge, from large-scale, high-level dresses such as Asiamarine and Simpson, which can magic all five-star Fandango, to the independent-operator with sailing. Jibe Ho!
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Asiamarine yachts range from $ 18,800 HK ($ 2,420/1,870 pounds) for eight hours at 148,000 HK (19,000 $/14,700) for four hours. A ship for up to 50 guests is available. More information here
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Simpson offers cards from 16,000 HK (2,000 $/1,600 £) up to 148,000 HK (19,000 $/14,700 pounds), both for eight hours. Ships that house up to 50 are available. Further details here
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Aci Navigation offers trips to islands such as Soko, Cheung Chau, Lamma and Sunshine Island. Of the 3,000 HK ($ 385/300 pound) for a two-hour presentation to navigate around Chak Chau, Sunshine Island and off Mui Wo. Reserve here
Additional report by Isaac Zamet
Do you have a favorite water picture in Hong Kong? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @Ftglobetrotter
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