Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [53]
STANLEY MARKET Map
Stanley Village Rd; 9am-6pm; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
No big bargains or big stings, just reasonably priced casual clothes (plenty of large sizes), bric-a-brac, toys and formulaic art, all in a nicely confusing maze of alleys running down to Stanley Bay. It’s best to go during the week; on the weekend the market is bursting at the seams with tourists and locals alike.
MURRAY HOUSE Map
Stanley Bay; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
At the start of the Chung Hom Kok peninsula across the bay from Stanley Main St (the waterfront promenade lined with bars and restaurants) stands this three-storey colonnaded affair. Built in 1848 as officers’ quarters, it took pride of place in Central, on the spot where the Bank of China Tower now stands, for almost 150 years until 1982. It was re-erected here stone by stone and opened in 2001.
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top picks
MARKETS
Graham St Market ( Click here)
Temple St Night Market ( Click here)
Yuen Po Flower Market ( Click here)
Cat St ( Click here)
Stanley (left)
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HONG KONG MARITIME MUSEUM Map
2813 2322; www.hkmaritimemuseum.org; Ground fl, Murray House; adult/concession $20/10; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
This small but interesting museum, occupying the ground floor of Murray House, consists of ancient and modern galleries charting the shipping history of Hong Kong. It’s well worth a visit if you’ve already come to see Murray House. The modern gallery includes some fun interactive displays where you can test your skills at Morse code or even pilot a tanker through Hong Kong waters.
HONG KONG CORRECTIONAL SERVICES MUSEUM Map
2147 3199; www.csd.gov.hk/english/hkcsm/hkcsm.html; 45 Tung Tau Wan Rd; admission free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
Mock cells, gallows and flogging stands are the gruesome draws at this museum, about 500m southeast of Stanley Village Rd, which traces the history of jails, prisons and other forms of incarceration in Hong Kong.
OLD STANLEY POLICE STATION Map
88 Stanley Village Rd; 6, 6A, 6X or 260
The most interesting building in the village itself is this two-storey structure that was built in 1859. It now contains a Wellcome supermarket.
ST STEPHEN’S BEACH & MILITARY CEMETERY Off Map
6A or 14
A great little tucked away spot, St Stephen’s Beach, with a cafe, showers and changing rooms, is south of the village. In summer you can hire windsurfing boards and kayaks from the water-sports centre (see Click here). To reach the beach, walk south along Wong Ma Kok Rd. Turn west (ie right) when you get to a small road (Wong Ma Kok Path) leading down to a jetty.
At the end of the road, turn south and walk past the boathouse to the beach. Bus 14 or 6A will take you close to the intersection with the small road.
Well worth a look is Stanley Military Cemetery for armed forces personnel and their families. The oldest graves date back to 1843 and are an intriguing document of the colonial era. The earlier graves show just how great a toll disease took on European settlers, while the number of graves from the early 1940s serves as a reminder of the many who died during the fight for Hong Kong and subsequent internment at the hands of occupying Japanese forces. The cemetery is just opposite the bus stop.
TEMPLES & SHRINES Map
6, 6A, 6X or 260
At the western end of Stanley Main St, past a tiny Tai Wong shrine and through the shopping complex called Stanley Plaza, is a Tin Hau temple (119 Stanley Main St; 7am-6pm), built in 1767 and said to be the oldest building in Hong Kong. It has undergone a complete renovation since then, however, and is now a concrete pile (though the interior is traditional). A sign explains that the tiger skin hanging on the wall came from an animal that ‘weighed 240 pounds, was 73 inches long, and three feet high [and] shot by