Hong Kong is not a beautiful city.
It's not one of those cities that you arrive in and are immediately charmed by, mostly because it's not particularly charming at first sight. If you're not at first struck by the by the smog, you'll be taken aback by the endless display of skyscrapers and neon advertising.
At least, this country girl was.
But just because Hong Kong isn't beautiful doesn't mean that it's not interesting. It's VERY interesting — I mean, here you have a city that was under British rule until the mid-90s, and that now operates as a sort-of part of China. It's an extremely modern city, with great, efficient public transportation and a skyline that is world-famous — and yet only about 30 years old.
I only had 2 days in Hong Kong, which of course is not long enough to truly uncover its character. But I did my best. Here's what I was able to see in the city in 2 days:
The Peak
Officially known as Victoria Peak, The Peak is one of the top tourist destinations in Hong Kong. On a good day, you can see out over Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbor, Kowloon, and beyond from here. (Though, “good days” are not the easiest to come by here… I lucked out and actually had decent visibility!) To get the The Peak, you can take the Peak Tram, an old funicular that zooms up the mountain at a slightly alarming speed and angle. Just be aware that you will have to utilize your elbows while waiting in line to board. The views, though? So worth it. I paid extra to go up to the Sky Terrace 428, which is the weird-shaped building where my skyline shots were snapped.
Causeway Bay
One of the major shopping districts in Hong Kong is located around the Causeway Bay MTR stop on HK Island. Here you'll find multiple multi-level malls and just about any store you could dream of. You'll also find TONS of people — be sure to have a stroll around and cross one of the big intersections just for fun. I was also able to spy some fun Chinese New Year decorations here at a mall called Times Square.
Markets
Hong Kong has some great markets to explore, whether you're looking for jade, antiques, or knock-off purses. I ventured to the Ladies Market in Mong Kok (Tung Choi Street), as well as the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon. I didn't do much shopping, but these are usually great places to pick up souvenirs/gifts and to try out your haggling skills.
Green spaces
Believe it or not, even within this concrete jungle there are green spaces to be found. On my way to The Peak I stumbled upon Charter Garden and Statue Square — surprisingly quiet spots in the middle of the city.
(And I also spent half a day on Lantau Island, but that is being saved for my next post!)
Hong Kong at night
Lastly, I explored a bit of Hong Kong at night. Taking the Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon one evening, I wandered around TST (Tsim Sha Tsui), walked the Avenue of Stars, and watched the skyline twinkle from across the harbor (though I sadly never did catch a light show). The city is perhaps even more lively at night, since most Hong Kong residents can be found out and about in the evenings.
So, is Hong Kong worth adding to your Asia itinerary?
For people who hate big, crowded cities, perhaps not. After all, in a relatively compact city with a population of about 7 million, there isn't much personal space to be found here.
I, however, am glad I decided to visit for a couple of days. It's extremely easy to get around Hong Kong (and nearly everything is in both Chinese and English), and it was interesting to explore a city so different from those I've found myself in in the past year or so.
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Is Hong Kong on YOUR travel list?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
As a “local”, I love seeing HK through your “tourist” lens! It was so great to meet up with you and I’m glad I was able to show you a tiny bit of my city. Well, as you know, I adored Hong Kong so after living there for two years that I decided to move back! It definitely can be a shock to the system if you’re not used to the smoggy, busy mega-cities in Asia. The funny thing is that while I love Hong Kong I really don’t like Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City — they are way more aggressive in terms of congestion, noise, and pollution! Very curious to read your impressions of those cities. Happy travels!
It was great meeting up with you, too, Oneika! Thanks for showing me around a bit. 🙂
I will be interested to see what I think of Bangkok and HCMC in comparison, too!
Great photos and sights for just 2 days. I am not sure I would go to Hong Kong unless it was a layover stop. I am just not a crowd person and like my personal space a little too much 🙂
Yeah, HK might be better for you as just a long layover then! It’s interesting to see, but I wouldn’t have wanted to spend a ton more time there either.
I really enjoyed reading about your impressions of Hong Kong. Safe travels!
Thanks, Stefania!
I love mega cities, the bigger the better 🙂 But yes, “beautiful” isn’t necessarily a word I would use to describe them. I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea and your pictures definitely reminded me of there.
And yes, Hong Kong is definitely on my travel “to do” list 🙂
Sounds like you would really love Hong Kong!
I definitely appreciated it. But HK is definitely not a “beautiful” city in the typical sense!
Great photos! Hong Kong has never really been on my radar. I just haven’t felt a pull there compared to other cities. But it certainly seems like a very unique place to visit, and how can you go wrong with so many knock off purses!
Haha, yes, plenty of “copy purse, copy watch” to be found here. 😉
Hong Kong was never really on my travel radar, either, but I guess that’s just because I haven’t read a ton about it. Hence why I decided to go!
Hong Kong is definitely on my travel list. I’m not into Asia all that much so I feel Hong Kong might be a good introduction, a good starting point to further exploration of the Asian continent. It does look kind of fabulous to me, a hardcore urbanite!
It would be a GREAT intro to Asia for you. It’s super easy to navigate, and is Western enough that it’s not a huge shock to the system. And if you love cities, then you will probably adore HK!
I rather enjoyed Hong Kong…but probably only for a few days. It’s pretty full on! Luck you got a good view from the The Peak; when I went one March several years ago it was really foggy and could barely see the water.
Yes I definitely lucked out with the weather that day! I’ve seen plenty of cloudy photos, too.
And I agree – I don’t know that I’d want to spend weeks in Hong Kong… unless I had lots of money to shop with. 😉
Not exactly, but I’d want to visit it for its dining scene.
Some great food in Hong Kong!
Wow! Hong Kong is somewhere that I don’t really know much about, but from this it seems like a very vibrant, busy place. Even possibly a bit overwhelming (especially for a country girl like me)! But it looks like a great place to spend a couple of days. 🙂
Yeah, it’s definitely a big change from the countryside!! But I didn’t know much about it either, so it was good to check it out for a couple of days.
gees it is just such a big and crazy city! overwhelming I imagine
If you’re not a big city person, then yes it would be very overwhelming!
What great photos! I’ve been to Hong Kong a few times and just love the place, I’d love to spend some extended time there someday. I see you also squeezed Sasa into a few of your shots too – that is my favourite beauty products/perfume store IN THE WORLD, sort of an Asian version of Sephora with tiny prices. Looks like your weather was good for January too! It was perhaps 5-10 degrees Celsius every day I was there a few Januarys ago, and all the locals thought it was like Antarctica, knocking each other over in their big North Face jackets 🙂
People were still wandering around in puffy coats, but it wasn’t cold at all by my Ohio standards! I clearly stuck out like a sore thumb, though. 😉 Glad you liked the photos!
Great photos! I’ve seen some shots that it is just brown outside, so it looks like you got lucky with not as thick smog.
It was still way too smoggy for my liking, but yes, compared to how it could be, I lucked out!
Great shots Amanda. So jealous right now. Hong Kong has been high up on my list for some time now. Have to make it happen soon!!!
Definitely check it out sometime, Jen!
What I most remember about Hong Kong was the HUGE outdoor escalators that people used to get home to their apartment buildings. We only have a stopover in Hong Kong and were soooo jetlagged it was hard to enjoy it. Need to give it another go.
I sadly didn’t make it to the really really long escalators (well, I saw them, but I didn’t have time to ride them!), but there are escalators EVERYwhere in HK! Even just on random side streets that are hilly.
So glad you visited HK after all! It truly is an incredible city. For me, it was love at first sight (I cannot wait to go back!) but it is quite intense. You seem to have managed a good itinerary, and you even went to the Big Buddha!
Can’t wait to continue following you on your Asia trip!
Enjoy 🙂
I won’t say that I’m not a big city person, but Hong Kong didn’t capture me like it did you! I still had a good time, though. And yes, the Big Buddha was actually the highlight of the trip for me!