wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Channel NewsAsia 3 Dec 06
Thousands of day-trippers flock to outlying islands in Hong Kong for a relaxing break
By Channel NewsAsia's Hong Kong Correspondent, Roland Lim

HONG KONG: Day trippers to islands in Hong Kong's New Territories are numbering in the thousands on weekends.

A journey of one to two hours by boat to a cluster of outlying islands will lead to some of the most scenic spots in Hong Kong.

The Tolo Channel was once pirate-infested waters as the narrow passage and maze of islands made it a tough challenge for the British colonial government to police. But modern-day smugglers will have little chance of sneaking past the buoys which enable the local Coast Guard to keep track of vessel movements.

Lai Chi Wo is along the outlying coastline of the New Territories. It boasts a traditional Hakka village that was once abandoned but now resurrected for tourists.

Miranda Chan, Project Officer of HKTraveller.com, says: "It's the biggest village in the Northeastern territories so it's quite a unique one. You can see the structure of an old Chinese village. As Chinese, we're interested in seeking our roots."

Another attraction is the nature trail where one of the oldest and largest specimens of coastal heritieras in Hong Kong can be found. With its proximity to the sea, soil is submerged during the high tide and erosion has resulted in spectacular trunk formations.

Another interesting place is Hong Kong's Eastern-most point, Tung Ping Chau or 'Flat Island' due to the fact that its highest peak is only 48 metres high. It is a designated marine park as its surrounding waters are home to 65 species of hard coral. Tung Ping Chau has also been voted the city's most favourite natural scenic spot partly because of its remoteness and the geographical uniqueness of its rock formation, which reminds many of a multi-layered Chinese cake due to its multi-layered bands.

Most importantly, it is one of the scenic, peaceful islands that make good and fast getaways whenever city life gets too stressful. --- CNA/so
links
Related articles on Wild shores
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com