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• Watch the Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival, usually held in June. This lively, vibrant spectacle is underscored by the beating of heavy drums.
• Experience the buzz of city life by riding the 800m- (2,625ft-) long central-mid-levels escalator (the world's longest covered outdoor escalator) which transports tens of thousands of people each day and has created its own escalator culture of cafes and restaurants.
• Hike the MacLehose Trail, Hong Kong's longest at 100km (62 miles), which crosses the New Territories, taking in Hong Kong's highest peak, Tai Mo Shan (985m/3,231ft).
• Walk along the Dragon's Back on Hong Kong Island, which follows a ridge, giving spectacular views. This can be concluded with dinner in one of the restaurants in Shek-O Village.
• Catch the famous Star Ferry (website: www.starferry.com.hk) to Kowloon from Central, Hong Kong Island's financial and commercial hub. Or take a morning harbour cruise and watch the Noon Day Gun that has fired at midday since the 1840s at Causeway Bay.
• Go shopping down fashionable Nathan Road in Kowloon. Grab a bargain at Mong Kok's and Yau Ma Tei's bustling markets. In Yau Ma Tei, stalls set up at 1400 on Temple Street for the Night Market, selling everything from electrical goods to incense sticks.
• Cycle on the Tolo Harbour Cycling Track, running from Sha Tin to Tai Po, an easy ride through scenic countryside. Bikes are available for hire near KCR stations. Most outlying islands do not allow cars.
• Take a dip in the sea. Hong Kong has over 30 highly acclaimed beaches. Excellent snorkelling, waterskiing, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and fishing are available. Watersports equipment can be hired from beaches and hotels in Stanley and Sai Kung. One-day island hopping tickets allow unlimited ferry trips between islands.
• Spot macaque monkeys, wild boar, civet cats, barking deer and the Chinese pangolin in the excellent country parks at Sai Kung East and West. Watch birds at the Mai Po marshes near Yuen Long in the New Territories (website: www.wwf.org.hk/eng/maipo) and look out for the Chinese pink dolphin near Lantau Island.
• Have a flutter on the horses. Vast sums of money change hands at Hong Kong's horse racing meetings, held from September to June, Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and Wednesday evening. The two main racecourses are at Happy Valley (Hong Kong Island) (website: www.happyvalleyracecourse.com) and Shatin (New Territories) (website: www.sha-tin.com).
• Be a big kid at Disneyland Hong Kong on Lantau Island, which incorporates four themed lands and two hotels. Attractions range from the adventurous Jungle River Cruise to the dizzying heights of Orbitron, where visitors pilot their own rocket (website: www.hongkongdisneyland.com).
• Join the festivities at Cheung Chau's annual Bun Festival in celebration of Pak Tai (a god that influences good sailing and fishing). Bamboo towers covered in steamed buns are constructed as an offering to the god. Cheung Chau is a traditional fishing island with simple temples and unspoilt beaches.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
• Experience the buzz of city life by riding the 800m- (2,625ft-) long central-mid-levels escalator (the world's longest covered outdoor escalator) which transports tens of thousands of people each day and has created its own escalator culture of cafes and restaurants.
• Hike the MacLehose Trail, Hong Kong's longest at 100km (62 miles), which crosses the New Territories, taking in Hong Kong's highest peak, Tai Mo Shan (985m/3,231ft).
• Walk along the Dragon's Back on Hong Kong Island, which follows a ridge, giving spectacular views. This can be concluded with dinner in one of the restaurants in Shek-O Village.
• Catch the famous Star Ferry (website: www.starferry.com.hk) to Kowloon from Central, Hong Kong Island's financial and commercial hub. Or take a morning harbour cruise and watch the Noon Day Gun that has fired at midday since the 1840s at Causeway Bay.
• Go shopping down fashionable Nathan Road in Kowloon. Grab a bargain at Mong Kok's and Yau Ma Tei's bustling markets. In Yau Ma Tei, stalls set up at 1400 on Temple Street for the Night Market, selling everything from electrical goods to incense sticks.
• Cycle on the Tolo Harbour Cycling Track, running from Sha Tin to Tai Po, an easy ride through scenic countryside. Bikes are available for hire near KCR stations. Most outlying islands do not allow cars.
• Take a dip in the sea. Hong Kong has over 30 highly acclaimed beaches. Excellent snorkelling, waterskiing, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and fishing are available. Watersports equipment can be hired from beaches and hotels in Stanley and Sai Kung. One-day island hopping tickets allow unlimited ferry trips between islands.
• Spot macaque monkeys, wild boar, civet cats, barking deer and the Chinese pangolin in the excellent country parks at Sai Kung East and West. Watch birds at the Mai Po marshes near Yuen Long in the New Territories (website: www.wwf.org.hk/eng/maipo) and look out for the Chinese pink dolphin near Lantau Island.
• Have a flutter on the horses. Vast sums of money change hands at Hong Kong's horse racing meetings, held from September to June, Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and Wednesday evening. The two main racecourses are at Happy Valley (Hong Kong Island) (website: www.happyvalleyracecourse.com) and Shatin (New Territories) (website: www.sha-tin.com).
• Be a big kid at Disneyland Hong Kong on Lantau Island, which incorporates four themed lands and two hotels. Attractions range from the adventurous Jungle River Cruise to the dizzying heights of Orbitron, where visitors pilot their own rocket (website: www.hongkongdisneyland.com).
• Join the festivities at Cheung Chau's annual Bun Festival in celebration of Pak Tai (a god that influences good sailing and fishing). Bamboo towers covered in steamed buns are constructed as an offering to the god. Cheung Chau is a traditional fishing island with simple temples and unspoilt beaches.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
