The Gala Café of Tsuen Wan
I was born the same year as the Gala Café of Tsuen Wan. I have not heard of it until last year, but thankfully it was not too late. For forty years, Gala Café was the local favorite in Tsuen Wan. It was especially famous …
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From Parkview to Repulse Bay Villa
The plan for the day is to hike the Wilson Trail Section 1 via Violet Hill to end at Repulse Bay. We began at the Stanley Section of Wilson Trail Section 1 at Parkview. The entrance is across the street from the public parking lot …
Lost in the Beauty of Tai Mo Shan Country Park
While I intend my hiking entries to be informational, I caution readers on this one. It is not meant to be a guide, but rather an account of being lost in midst of the many diverging mountainous paths in Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in Hong Kong.
The Original Plan
The original plan for the day was to climb Tai Mo Shan via the MacLehose Trail Section 8. I chose one of the coldest days in this winter to do this, because I wanted to experience Tai Mo Shan in its winter.
As usual, I took the Pineapple Dam Nature Trail and spent an hour reaching the Lead Mine Pass. It was all good until I headed up toward Maclehose Trail Section 8. There is a clear entry into MacLehose Trail Section 8 at Lead Mine Pass.
Lost in Midst of Beautiful Mountainous Paths
Yet after ten minutes up on some intense stairs, I made the wrong turn. I saw this sign and followed the way to Chuen Lung. Apparently, at the top of this set of stairs, one has to make a right to arrive at MacLehose Trail Section 8. Without a clear sign, I followed the path purportedly going to Chuen Lung on the left.
Photos: Above two pictures shows the way up to enter Maclehose Trail Section 8. Below the sign points to the way to Chuen Lun toward the left (west). But the right way to Maclehose Trail Section 8 is on the right.
It was about an hour later that I realized I was walking on the mid-range of Tai Mo Shan. I was not climbing up to its top. I figured that I would just take it as it comes, rather than going back. There were generous shades throughout this trail and it was actually very pleasant.
About another two, three hours later, I still have not made it back to civilization as I had planned. I have crossed the Tai Shing Stream, one of Hong Kong’s largest streams. One characteristic of the Tai Shing Stream is its large rocks.
Google Map told me to follow signs for the Shing Mun Catchwater.
I ended up here on a high plateau looking onto all of western New Territories. This view made it all worthwhile for me. The top of Tai Mo Shan was in sight, but I would have no time to climb up because the sun would set in an hour or so.
I then descended upon a serious set of stairs down for about 15 minutes. It was so steep that I slipped a few times.
Photo: sign at the end of the steep stairs down from the plateau, and I headed over to the Chuen Lung direction via the Lung Mun Country Trail.
The Lung Mun Country Trail
The final stretch of the hiking was the Lung Mun Country Trail. I walked for about another hour on this trail.
I then came upon the paved road. A group of fellow hikers showed me the way back to Chuen Lung.
Photo: Sign at the beginning of the Lung Mun Country Trail showing the way to Chuen Lung. I made a right on the paved road for another 15-20 minutes and I was back in civilization.
What a day! Statistics: 6.5 hours of walking, 29,677 steps, 159 floors.
Way to the High Plateau
Perhaps I can share some tips on how one can reach this high plateau with exceptional views. Going from Lead Mine Pass is a very long hike. Therefore one can first start at Lung Mun Country Trail by walking 20 minutes from Chuen Lung. About 5, 10 minutes after crossing the third bridge, you will come to a crossroad with this following signage. The Lung Mun Country Trail will continue straight all the way to the Shing Mun Reservoir. If you turn right you will track the Shing Mun Catchwater. But look to your left for a long set of steps up. Take this path up. It will eventually lead you to the Lead Mine Pass.
Photo: at the first crossroad on Lung Mun Country Trail, you will see this sign. The way up the plateau is on your left.
This section is very steep and you might want to use a hiking cane. Once climbing up this set of stairs, you will reach the plateau. To get back to civilization, walk back down and either go back the way of Chuen Lung or follow this sign back at the crossroads for Shing Mun Reservoir.
Some Tips
Finally, I would like to once again caution readers about hiking in Hong Kong. I have planned the original hike with an expectation of 3-4 hours of walking. But thankfully I prepared plenty of water and some warming foods for myself. As such, getting lost in what turned out to be a 6.5 hours hike was not a stressful event. I also started rather early in the day, and so an additional two to three hours would still be within the daylight. If not for having well-prepared for contingencies, the experience would have been very stressful.
In this part of the New Territories, many of the trails are not endorsed by the government. That means the government has not established clear road signs, and the trails do not have proper names. As such, you can’t count on fellow hikers to show you the way, because they all have different understanding of what these trails are called. They could have told you very different stories of how the trail system takes you.
It was out of pure fortune that my phone had reception throughout. But you also can’t count on that in many of the rural areas in Hong Kong. I relied on Google Map to take me back to Chuen Lung. Although it all turned out OK in the end, I have gotten lost with Google Map in the rural areas many times before. This time, I was just lucky. Whew.
The Tung Chung Fort
On this brilliant day we visited the Tung Chung Fort in Tung Chung. History During the Daoguang Reign, the Qing Government built two strategic naval camps to clamp down on the opium trade and the pirates in the South China Sea. The site at Dapeng, …
From the Pineapple Dam to Lead Mine Pass
The Lead Mine Pass is where the MacLehose Trail Section 8 meets the Wilson Trail Section 7. Located in the northern end of the Shing Mun Reservoir Country Park, the Lead Mine Pass is as much a rest station as it is a landmark. The …
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).
The Cheung Sok Island of Sunny Bay
With no car this day we decided to visit the outlaying islands. I opted for an easy trail in Lantau Island, a stroll on the seaside of Sunny Bay. The trail ends at the Cheung Sok Island. The Cheung Sok Island is an uninhabited island …
Little Hawaii
This late autumn day blessed us with generous sunshine. We had a family outing with a group of young children. There is plenty of water to play with in this area of eastern New Territories. The Little Hawaii of Tseung Kwan O used to be …
The Good Man of Nam Long Shan
On this first visit at Nam Long Shan, we ran into heavy rain when we were half-way through the hike. We ran back for cover and sat at the pavilion at the Nam Long Shan Road Rest Garden. A mid-aged man was also taking cover there. We chatted, hoping that the storm would ease. But soon we realized that the rain was not stopping anytime soon. In fact, the Observatory issued an amber rain signal soon.
The mid-aged man was getting picked up from his son. They live at the foot of Nam Long Shan. “I asked my son to bring you an extra umbrella.” We were incredibly grateful for his kindness. There would not have been any taxi’s available. The drivers were changing shifts, and no one would be happy to take us through the short distance between Nam Long Shan and where we parked.
The Trail
On this first time we visited, we parked in Wong Chuk Hang and walked up all of Nam Long Shan Road. We first passed by the Singapore International School, then the Canadian International School. There were some nice views on the way. We looked afar at this point and saw beautiful yachts docked at Aberdeen. The big ship Jumbo Floating Restaurant was in sight, although it closed down already.
At around mid-hill, we saw the stairs leading up to the Nam Long Shan Road Rest Garden. We went up and the first stop was a little grotto-like place with displays of all kinds of Buddha statues.
We continued up on a very long set of stairs and came to Nam Long Shan Pavilion. Views of Sham Wan opened up, and it was beautiful under the setting sun.
From afar we saw the Ocean Park. And only at this site are we able to see this childhood memory in its entirety.
We did not make it to the helipad this time on our first visit. Droplets began to rain down on us. As we descended, we came upon boars, a family of them. We heard them “oint” as we rushed down the stairs and had to maneuver the situation with care. The biggest one, assuming it being the mother, came out, then six more little ones followed. It was a very comical scene but it started pouring soon.
The trail is very straightforward overall. From the Nam Long Shan Road Rest Garden it was just one set of stairs up for perhaps 25 to 30 minutes. The highest point would be the observatory, but even on our second visit we only went as far as the helipad.
Views of the Aberdeen Channel and outlaying islands at the helipad:
On this second visit, we met the same man that lent us an umbrella. He was again doing his run and I waved at him, “remember us?” He took a few seconds. Oh yeah, the umbrella! Keep it!
As such, we remembered this good man as our Nam Long Shan experience.
From the Hatton Road Morning Trail to Mount High West
We walked up the Peak via the Hatton Road Morning Trail and then ascended even higher to Mount High West. The Hatton Road Morning Trail We have done the Hatton Road Morning Trail before in order to see the Pinewood Battery, which lies about half-way …