New Territories, Hong Kong

If you want to experience old village life - be brave and get out of the main hustle and bustle of Kowloon and venture out into the New Territories eg, Yuen Long or Sha Tin. You can wander into villages which still exist (for now!) and see ancestral halls etc.

We saw this on Globetrekker and decide it was a must. You Buy colored streamers from a little stand by the tree and wright your wishes on them. You attach the streamers to an orange and throw them as high as possible into the tree. If your Orange catches onto the branches, your wish will come true. Apparently the higher you can get it lodged the better your chances. It was certainly aimed at the tourist crowd, but we did see some locals taking part as well. It was well worth the adventure and offering the Oranges to the tree in exchange for your wish seemed like a fair trade to me

Hong Kong's rustic back yard, this 300-plus square mile area contains mountains where wild monkeys live. Lantau (the territory's largest island) offers one of the world's largest Buddha statues, parks and campsites. On Cheung Chau, there is a quaint harbour and fishing village. Lamma boasts scenic walking trails and superb seafood restaurants.

well for people who want to see as much of hong kong as possible i found two great places well worth a look. both are easily accesible by train. the first is the wong tai sin temple situated in wong tai sin. it is probably hong kongs most important place of worship. the other is the ten thousand buddha pagoda situated in sha tin. it actually contains over twelve thousand buddha images but is a great place for hiking and culture. for kung fu fans...i recommend a pilgrimedge to kowloon tong to 41 cumberland road, the former residence of kung fu legend bruce lee. fans will be dissapointed though to see the shabby left overs of a once beautiful mansion. the japanese garden in the front has been replaced with concrete. a word of warning, anyone looking to go inside should well be aware that the building now is a bordello complete with guards.

This second large water storage was built by government. The cost of phase one (1883-1888) alone amounted to $1.25 million, about twice the total cost of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. It's located in the upper valley, more than one mile from the coast. Featuring a huge dam that intercepts water to create a massive enclosure for rainwater, it was a massive engineering feat. Fresh water from the reservoir was fed to the Bowen Road pipeline via a tunnel (3 miles in total length). After treatment at the water works, it was supplied to residents of HK Island. The great Tai Tam dam is a granite and concrete structure measures 90 feet tall, 400 feet wide and 60 feet thick. The most challenging aspect of the project is the pipeline tunnel that runs through Wong Nai Chung Gap. This 6 x 7 feet tunnel is more than 7,300 feet long and runs through hard granite. Without advanced engineering machines, work was completed by manpower and using basic tools. The working conditions were taxing, as workers were drilling through hills in hostile rock and rough forest. Many workers contracted diseases and died as a result. Apart from overcoming adverse site conditions, the reservoir engineers had another great achievement. The Tai Tam Reservoir pioneered a water pumping technique, which effectively broke the traditional down-flowing water supply method then in use. It was indeed a major step forward for the waterworks development of HK. The completion of the Tai Tam Reservoir works brought an adequate water supply. The government satisfied with the result, started piping water to the public in 1890. The Tai Tam Waterworks had several extension projects, which increased the total storage capacity to nearly 400,000,000 gallons from 250,000,000 gallons. In 1918, Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir, with even greater capacity, was completed. While supplying water to residents in Victoria, Tai Tam Reservoir also looked after the needs of North Point and Shau Kei Wan.

Towards the north of Hong Kong's territory, there are a few wetland areas where birds from all over Asia comes here to rest. Although constantly being threatened by development both in Hong Kong and its neighbouring Shenzhen, China, wetland areas in Hong Kong are strictly preserved under the Ramsar Convention. Some of these famous areas include Mai Po and Tsim Bei Tsui

Visit one of the many Country Parks
Country Parks closest to Urban centres are full of recreational features, such as signposted jogging and hiking trails, barbecue and picnic sites, pavilions and 'Family Walks' and 'Nature Trails'. Markers refer to specific items of natural interest, whilst visitors' Centres have been built at the entrance to several popular parks containing information counters and exhibits of the area's flora and fauna, geology and human history

Tai Long Wan which means Big Wave Bay is located in the most eastern part of Sai Kung Peninsula directly facing the Pacific. It is one of the most remote parts of Hong Kong. The mountain ranges, the long beaches and the sounds and sights of big waves are stunning! Very few people, usually the experienced hikers visit these beaches as there are no roads leading there and the mountains are steep.