Central District, Hong Kong

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For any new comers to Hong Kong who wishes to discover Hong Kong island or visitors who have nothing to do in the morning: Do the walking tour of Central District. You can get to see the spectacular tall buildings in this area and watch people rushing off to work. Just bring a camera to take lots of photos. Depending on how long you stop to admire the buildings, it would roughly take 2-3h.

Start from the Central Pier, walk down the overhead walkway to the General Post Office and Exchange Square, cross over to Chater House, escalator down, walk east to Statue Square, cross over to Legislative Council, walk east to Charter Garden.

At Charter Garden, you'll see Lippo Tower, Bank of China Tower, Citibank Plaza etc.

Walk along Des Vouex Road west ward to HSBC. See the lobby of HSBC and its elegant Lion statues. Walk west towards Li Yuen Street to see the street markets. Along the way, you would see many stalls, trams passing by, people rushing to everywhere.

To conclude the walking tour, take the Mid Level escalators all the way to the top.

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Chater Garden is a lovely little hideaway in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district. It's located near Statue Square beside the Old Supreme Court building and is surrounded by the Lippo Tower, Bank of China Tower and Citibank Plaza as well as raised pedestrian walkways that cross the roads. It was developed in the 1970s, taking up space left by the Hong Kong Cricket Club and is named after Sir Paul Chater, an important businessman in Hong Kong. The gardens feature several pools with small fountains and water cascading down off large raised levels as well as many different types of palm trees and tropical plants.

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Ko Shing Street is Chinese Herbal Medicine Central. "If you got it, we can cure it" seems to be the motto sung by the miracle doctors on this street. WARNING: Animal lovers should steer clear of Ko Shing Street, because it seems that just about every animal is used in Chinese medicine.

Some of the rare ingredients you can find in these concoctions made by the mad scientist are Bear Bile used to cure chronic stomach disease. Buffalo Horn used for fever, edema and convulsions.Deer Antler to increase red and white blood cells, reverse the aging process. Gecko (Yes the small lizard) used to treat asthma, increase sexual activity in men.

Ko Shing Street is a unique look at the Chinese culture, and if you are brave enough, a great place to try some tradiotional Chinese herbal medicine.

Trust the HK folks to come up with a such a novel idea. Originally intended as a means for its residents to get around the steep hill, it is now a tourist attraction

At 800-metres long, this is the worldis longest covered escalator. It links Des Voeux Road Central near the harbour to Conduit Road in the Mid- Levels. The escalator is a convenient way to see the bustling city hillside which contains great restaurants and shops. Travelling the entire length takes about 20 minutes. The escalator runs one-way downhill from 6am to 10am, and then uphill from 10:20am to midnight. The escalator is a transit link for residents of the Mid-Levels. It is best to use it after 9am when the morning rush hour is over.

Wing Lok Street is a popular street to find Ginseng and Bird's Nest. Ginseng is probably the most famous of herbs used in China, who use the root of the plant for many medicines. Some of it's uses are to help with fatigue and stress, respiratory diseases, to lower liver toxicity, and to enhance sexual stamina. Bird's Nest is exactly what it sounds like. The most common bird nest is the Swallow nest. The tiny nest is cooked in soup, and can help to relieve coughing and ease breathing

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One of the most remarkable achievements in Hong Kong is the intricate network of protected passages over the roads.

It's easy to escape the danger (the noise and the smoke) of the traffic, and it is comfortable to circulate in the air-conditioning from building to building. However, that gives us the strange feeling of being somewhat... confined, without the chance of feeling the town. And, as all the knots of the network, are shopping malls… dramatic!

Every night, a lot of people can be found at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon with their cameras taking numerous pictures of the Hong Kong skyline at night. It's a pretty colourful sight and at 8 pm, they have the Symphony of Lights where a few of the buildings change colours and shoot green lasers into the sky.

Take a walk starting from the Western Martket in Sheung Wan to the Mid-Level Escalators in Central and visit Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road (Hong Kong's first street since the colonial times) and Cat Street for oddities along the way.