Welcome to Hong Kong
Hong Kong beckons and baffles, like the plot in one of its award-winning crime thrillers. Behind the city's futuristic facade hide smoky temples, surf-beaten beaches and sprawling, cattle-graced country parks. Hong Kong quickens the blood, yet reassures with the rule of law, an unbeatable transport system and the world's very best dim sum.
View over Wan Chai and Kowloon IAN TROWER / AWL IMAGES LTD/GETTY IMAGES
Hong KongTop Sights
At only HK$2.50, the 15-minute ride on the legendary Star Ferry, with its views of the dramatic urban coastline and the shimmering waters of Victoria Harbour, must be one of the worlds best-value cruises.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
This balmy promenade offers the best vantage points for viewing Hong Kongs most famous imagery: gleaming skyscrapers lined up between emerald hills and a sapphire harbour crisscrossed by ships.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Take Hong Kongs oldest thrill ride, the Peak Tram, for an almost-vertical ascension to the summit and the Peak Tower for postcard-perfect views of the city and the harbour.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Designed by architect Norman Foster, this impressive feat of high-tech modernism houses the HSBC headquarters; this monument in glass and steel is one of Hong Kongs most iconic buildings.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
This Taoist temple mesmerises with its bitter-sweet history and a smoky air infused by burning incense coils hanging from the ceiling like inverted mushrooms in a strange garden.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Beneath the glare of naked bulbs, stalls sell a myriad of booty, from alarm clocks to Nepalese daggers. Nearby, fortune tellers summon in English from dimly lit tents, and Cantonese opera singers strike a pose under the stars.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Whether you bet on the ponies or not, attending one of the electrifying Wednesday-evening meetings at this unique urban racecourse is one of the most exhilarating things to do in Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
This bustling temple complex is dedicated to a deified healer, and offers over-the-top visual excitement, quirky landscaping, colourful Taoist ceremonies and the obligatory fortune telling.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Big Buddha is the worlds largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha. He occupies a hilltop spot on leafy Lantau Island, but you can see him also as you fly into Hong Kong on a clear day.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
Macaus most famous landmark is, rightfully, this gorgeous facade decorated with intricate carvings and detailed engravings which was once part of a 17th-century Jesuit church.
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Hong Kong Top Sights
A top-notch aviary; photogenic lawns, ponds and waterfalls; and an exquisite tea-ware museum housed in a colonial building are the main draws of this attractive human-made park.
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Hong KongLocal Life
Insider tips to help you find the real Hong Kong
Alongside the top sights, you can experience Hong Kong like a local by exploring the coolest hang-outs, the pet beaches, the favourite mountain trails and those little indulgences that make up a Hong Kongers perfect day.