Kowloon Things to Do

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This wonderful new garden, opened in November 2006, is located in the Diamond Hill area of New Kowloon opposite the Chin Lin Nunnery. The garden is designed in the style of the Tang Dynasty, a classical circulatory landscaped garden based on the blue print of the Jiangshouju Garden in Shanxi Province, China. It covers an area of 35,000m2 and includes trees, rocks, hillocks and water features such as ponds, waterfalls and fountains. Along the route are timber structures in the Tang architectural style such as pavilions, terraces, verandahs, halls, bridges and gates. There are small exhibitions including an architecture gallery and rock gallery. It really is a lovely, peaceful spot in the middle of the urban hustle and bustle. More photo's can be found in one of my travelogues.

Open: 7am-9pm.

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The Chi Lin Nunnery is a Buddhist nunnery in Diamond Hill, New Kowloon and located in amongst several high-rise apartments blocks. But that doesn't spoil the beauty of it as it is exceptionally beautiful with courtyards containing lotus ponds full of Choy carp whilst the complex buildings have been built out of wood in the style of Tang architecture (AD618-907) without the use of a single nail. A gem of Chinese monastic architecture, it has 16 Buddhist halls, a Zen-style rock garden and a magnificent Ten Thousand Buddha’s Pagoda. The nunnery was founded in the 1930s and a massive renovation was undertaken in the 1980s. It's a wonderful peaceful place to visit and one of my favourite places to visit whilst I was in Hong Kong. Opposite is a lovely garden that was opened in 2006.

Open: 7am-5pm Thur-Tue.

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This large and busy Taoist temple in the Wong Tai Sin district of New Kowloon, is dedicated to the Great Immortal Wong who lived in the 4th century A.D. Wong Tai Sin is regarded as the bringer of good luck and a healer of illnesses via a practice called Kau Cim where prayers are answered in the form of fortune telling Chi Chi Sticks. 100 sticks are placed in a bamboo cylindrical cup and the querent thinks silently or whispers it to the deity about their question. The shaking of the cylinder results in at least one stick leaving the cylinder and being dropped onto the floor. Each stick, with its designated number, represents one answer via an answer paper. The writing on the piece of paper will provide an answer to the question.

Open: 7am-5.30pm.

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The Hong Kong Museum of History first opened in 1975 and occupies an area of 7,000 sq.m., over 8 galleries with over 3,700 exhibits. The museum's collection centres on history, archaeology and ethnography. 19th and 20th century photographs illustrate the development of the former colony, while archaeological finds - the Museum is officially responsible for all excavations in Hong Kong - document all the region's cultural phases, going right back to prehistory. The ethnographical department is concerned with arts and crafts, beliefs and customs, traditional agriculture and architecture. This museum is a must see whilst in Hong Kong.

Open: 10am-6pm Mondays, Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10am-7pm on Sundays. Closed on Tuesdays.
Admission: HK$10 but is free on Wednesdays.

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The theme of the Museum of Science is technological and scientific progress in many fields of human activity. With its 500 or so exhibits, it is a "hands on" museum, where visitors can set robots in motion, learn to operate the very latest communications technology or study complex scientific and technical matters with the aid of a computer. It attracts younger visitors in particular and helps to familiarize them with the latest equipment. One section explains the history of the Chinese art of natural healing and the importance of yin and yang. Particularly popular, too, is the aircraft department, where visitors can test their skill on nerve-tingling flight-simulators. A particular attraction is the 22m/72ft high electricity generator, which is activated twice daily. Another exhibit is a DC-3 suspended from the ceiling which is the first Hong Kong airliner operated by Cathy Pacific.

The attractive four-story building was designed by the internationally known Italian architect Remo Riva and completed in 1990.

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays : 1pm - 9pm
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays : 10am - 9pm
Closed Thursdays. Admission: HK$25

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This large 33 acre (13.47 hectare) park is a breath of (well I was going to say) fresh air in the middle of Kowloon. The park was formerly the site of Whitfield Camp barracks for the British with a battery along its western side until it was redeveloped in 1970. Today the park makes for a pleasant visit with a swimming pool, sports centre, children's playground, aviary, Chinese garden, bird lake and exhibition centre.

Open: 6am - midnight

This mosque is one of the four principal mosques in Hong Kong and is located along Nathan Road at the southern end of Kowloon Park. It was built in 1984 and is capable of accommodating up to approximately 2000 people.

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Chungking Mansions, built in 1961, has been synonymous in Hong Kong for cheap accommodation, shops and curry restaurants for years. It's a 17-storey, five block, crumbling, ugly heap of a building that certainly won't win any awards for being aesthetically pleasing on the eye. But somehow it's because of all this that it endears you to visit and take a look to see just what it's like (I'll let you draw your own conclusions if you do decide to visit). It sits on near the southern end of the long Nathan Road in Kowloon, right in the heart of where everything happens in the area. Mirador Mansions, just along the road, is of a similar standard.