Things to Do in Hong Kong Sar

In Chinese culture jade is associated with long life and purity and many locals in Hong Kong wear protective jade pendants based on their birthday and zodiac. If the jade cracks that means some sort of bad luck has been averted.

An enormous three ton hunk of jade makes the beginning of the “jade street” section of Canton Road in Kowloon. Here you'll find more than 400 stalls selling jade bangles, rings, earrings and more.

Fakes, colored stones and low quality pieces abound, so unless you're an expert don't invest in any expensive pieces. This is a great place however to pick up inexpensive souvenirs or gifts. Buying a piece of jade here is a great cultural experience. The vendors love to tell stories about their stones and many of the same sellers have been at the market for decades. Don't forget to bargain: if the seller accepts you're first offer that means you are paying too much.

The amount of glass, steel and concrete in Hong Kong can be overwhelming but the city has several beautiful green lungs, the biggest and most central of which is Hong Kong Park.

Like everything in this city the park is innovative and modern. The design blends the sleek architecture of the surrounding areas with a more natural landscape. On a stroll you will find lush green fields and trees set against a backdrop of skyscrapers. The park's main motif is “flowing water,” and different areas are linked together by running streams, waterfalls and ponds.

The biggest attraction here is the Edward Youde aviary which features pink flamingos, vibrant parrots, goofy hornbills and many more species. Also spread out among the greenery are several historical sites including the former British army barracks. Between exploring the many playgrounds, sculptures and gardens it would be easy to forget you're in Hong Kong at all.

Built by the Jesuits to repel an attack from the sea, the Monte Fort (Fortaleza de Monte) is the oldest military fortification in the peninsula of Macau. With construction beginning in 1617 the Monte Fort was also seen as a measure of defense for the minority Christians to defend themselves from ethnic Chinese who comprised the religious majority.

With walls over 330 feet (100.6 meters) long and walls nearly 30 feet (9.1 meters) high the Monte Fort was solidly built and capable of storing enough munitions to withstand a two-year siege. Though cannons were readied and defense preparations made, the only military action the Monte Fort ever saw was during an unsuccessful raid by the Dutch in 1622. Looking to gain an advantage in the lucrative East Asian trading route, the Dutch laid a surprise siege on the Portuguese at Macau. Heavily outnumbered and inevitably doomed, a Jesuit, Portuguese priest hunkered inside Monte Fort fired a lone cannon shot which miraculously struck a Dutch gunpowder storage. Devastated by the ensuing explosion the Dutch fell into retreat and ultimately failed in their effort to take Macau. Officially regarded as the only time the cannons were fired in defense, the same cannons today (though now defunct) now point at the towering Casino Lisboa and the ultra-modern skyline of Macau.

Classified as part of the UNESCO Historical Centre of Macau, visitors to Monte Fort are welcome to peruse the grounds of the old fort and walk through the subterranean tunnels. A strategic compound on the hill with a sweeping view of the city, Monte Fort once briefly served as the residence for the Governor of Macau before the construction of a meteorological observatory in 1965. Finally, in 1998, the observatory closed in favor of the Museum of Macau, a place which continues to educate visitors on the unique heritage of Monte Fort and the overall history of Macau.

Only in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Hong Kong can you spot Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson or get your picture taken with local and international celebrity Jackie Chan. Located inside the Peak Tower, the Hong Kong installment of the world’s most popular wax museum houses more than 100 eerily lifelike wax figures of both local and international stars.

The museum is divided into six areas: Hong Kong Glamour, SCREAM, World Premier, Historical and National Heroes, The Champions and Music Icons. Unlike the other five areas, you won’t find many familiar faces inside SCREAM, Hong Kong’s first permanent haunted house. Instead, you’ll wander through the halls of an asylum filled with both wax figures and live actors, making it difficult to distinguish what’s real from what isn’t.

Watching the locals and Mainland tourists come up with quirky poses next to their favorite wax celebrities can be just as entertaining for foreign tourists as the wax sculptures themselves.

Mongkok, a district located in Kowloon on the mainland side of Hong Kong, is known for its busy street markets and abundant dining options. It’s one of the most densely populated parts of the world, and the buzz of activity here never seems to stop. Buzzing neon lights and sidewalks filled to the brim with people at times overwhelm the senses, but in a way that is 100 percent Hong Kong.

For inexpensive street shopping, Mongkok’s most popular attraction is the Ladies’ Market. Contrary to what the name might imply, the market sells all sorts of wares, from souvenir trinkets to pirated music and home furnishings. Ladies will find plenty of stalls selling cheap clothing, shoes and accessories as well.

Within the neighborhood, you’ll also find streets dedicated to the sale of pets, wedding dresses and flowers, among other things. At any of these mostly outdoor markets, haggling is the rule. For more upscale retail therapy, head into the air-conditioned halls of Langham Place, one of Hong Kong’s biggest malls.

Hong Kong, one of Asia’s biggest and most international cities, also enjoys one of the world’s most impressive skylines, particularly at night. With the Victoria Harbour splitting the city in two, Hong Kong is a forest of skyscrapers squeezed together in front of a backdrop of green hills on both the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon sides.

To fully appreciate the size and scope of Hong Kong’s downtown area, you need to see it from above, and there are a variety of ways to do it. One of the best and most popular views is from the top of Victoria Peak. The vantage point from the top of the funicular lets you see the South China Sea, Central, Kowloon and the mainland extending into the distance. For a similar view, though not a 360-degree one, head to the International Financial Centre Tower 2 (2IFC). You can register at the front desk to ride up to the public observation deck on the fiftyfifth floor free of charge (and other tourists).

At night, Hong Kong’s skyline lights up beautifully, and 44 of the skyscrapers on both sides of the harbor participate in the Symphony of Lights, a nightly light and laser show. For nighttime views of both sides of the skyline, take a harbor ferry cruise at or after sunset.

In a modern international city like Hong Kong, public transportation is both abundant and efficient, so you’re never short on options for how to get around. If you really want the authentic Hong Kong experience, you should ride the Hong Kong tramways at least once.

The tramways in Hong Kong are one of the city’s earliest forms of public transportation, their use going back more than 100 years. They’re also one of the most environmentally friendly. It’s also the only tram system in the world to operate with only double-decker trams, which a known as the Ding Ding by locals.

You’ll find the trams running along Hong Kong Island from Shau Kei Wan to Kennedy Town on six major routes. They’re frequent and inexpensive, and you can use a Hong Kong Octopus card to pay your fare if you don’t happen to have change. Even if you don’t use the trams for transportation purposes, hop on one for an inexpensive people-watching excursion through one of the oldest parts of Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong’s South of Hollywood (SoHo) neighborhood, you’ll find the largest network of outdoor covered escalators on earth, known simply as the Central Escalators (or Mid-Levels Escalators). The series of 20 escalators and three inclined walkways stretch 2,625 feet (800 meters) with a 443-foot (135-meter) total vertical rise. This unusual Hong Kong attraction ferries more than 50,000 commuters and tourists between Central and the Mid Levels each day, moving downhill for four hours in the morning then uphill for the rest of the day.

The ride takes about 25 minutes one way, but part of the fun is getting off at the various stops to explore these busy Hong Kong neighborhoods. The streets and alleys to either side of the escalators, particularly at the Staunton Street and Shelley Street stops, are lined with bars and restaurants serving cuisine from all over the world. If you’re planning to travel up, start from the elevated walkway passing over Queen’s Road in Central District. Once you make it to the top of the system at Conduit Road, you can either walk back to the bottom or catch a bus or taxi to your next destination.

You’ll probably smell Man Mo Temple before you get there, as worshippers light enough giant incense coils within to turn the air an odd shade of blue and ensure everyone who enters leaves with a distinctive but pleasant Taoist perfume. Originally built in 1847, Man Mo is Hong Kong’s most famous temple, dedicated to the gods of literature and war. Students make up a significant portion of devotees who come seeking divine aid in their studies.

Within the temple, look for a statue of a man in green robes with a writing brush. This is one of the gods for which the temple is named -- Man Chung, the god of literature. Statues of Kwan Yu, the Chinese god of war, flank the main alter. As a famous general known for his martial successes, Kwan Yu is sometimes considered the deity of both the police force and the Chinese triads.

If you’re feeling particularly superstitious on your visit to Man Mo Temple, head into the hall to the right of the entrance to have your fortune told by an English-speaking teller who will divine your future using several bamboo sticks and a cup.