The Red Leaves of Tai Tong

For all of December it is red leaves season in Hong Kong.  One of the most popular sites for viewing sweet gum trees is Tai Tong in Yuen Long.  In fact, the red leaves are so popular that there is a special route called the Red Leaves Express.  The double decker runs between Yuen Long Town and the Long Ping MTR Station from December 5, 2020 until January 17, 2021.

There are a few sweet gum tree groves along Tai Tong Shan Road.  We parked at a temporary parking lot on Tai Tong Shan Road for a day parking fee of $80.  We then walked up the trail and saw the sweet gum trees.

Tai Tong is hands down the most popular location in Hong Kong at this time of the year.  We went on the Friday before Christmas, it was a weekday and yet there were probably thousands there.  That made the picture-taking very difficult.  I did manage to snap a few good pictures:

Given that there has been no travelling for almost a year now, we patted ourselves for having “made it” to Japan, or we could pretend we went to Canada.  This local site would have to do for now.

A look around in this area for red leaves only will take more than an hour.  Allow ample time for picture-taking though because there are so many people.  We did not stop at the sweet gum trees.  We went further up to see the Reservoir Islands, since my friend has never visited that site before.

Overall, we spent about three hours there, perhaps 2.5 of which was walking.  Both the sweet gum trees and the Reservoir Islands were popular sites.  People had to form lines to climb up the mountains to see the Reservoir Islands as well.

Some basics about red leaves:

The leaves contain a few chemicals that determine their colors.  Chlorophyll gives the leaves their usual green color.  Carotenoids are yellow and anthocyanins are red.  When it turns cold, the temperature in addition to strong sun rays break down the chlorophyll.  This process also induces the production of anthocyanins.  Therefore the leaves turn red at this season.

Annoyances:

Normally, the Tai Tong Shan Road Parking Lot is where drivers would stop before heading up to the Tai Tong Shan Road trail.  Because I assumed the parking lot would be full, I took the offer of the $80 day parking at the temporary parking lot.  As it turned out, this parking lot is much farther from the beginning of the trail.  When we walked by the normal Tai Tong Shan Road Parking Lot, I saw that there were still spots open for meter parking there.  It is therefore worthwhile to go further to check availability at the Tai Tong Shan Road Parking Lot proper first.  If there is no spot there, then certainly head back.  Paying $80 would save lots of trouble.

Source:

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Red Leaves Express of Sweet Gum Woods of Tai Lam Country Park (2020-2021).