Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [59]
HONG KONG MUSEUM OF HISTORY Map
2724 9042; http://hk.history.museum; 100 Chatham Rd South; adult/concession $10/5, admission free Wed; 10am-6pm Mon & Wed-Sat, 10am-7pm Sun & public holidays; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit B2)
For a whistle-stop overview of the territory’s archaeology, natural history, ethnography and local history, this museum is well worth a visit, not only to learn more about the subject but also to understand how Hong Kong presents its history to itself and the world.
‘The Hong Kong Story’ takes visitors on a fascinating walk through the territory’s past via eight galleries, starting with the natural environment and prehistoric Hong Kong – about 6000 years ago, give or take a lunar year – and ending with the territory’s return to China in 1997. You’ll encounter replicas of village dwellings; traditional Chinese costumes and beds; a re-creation of an entire arcaded street in Central from 1881, including an old Chinese medicine shop; a tram from 1913; and film footage of WWII, including recent interviews with Chinese and foreigners taken prisoner by the Japanese.
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TRANSPORT – TSIM SHA TSUI EAST & HUNG HOM
Ferry Star Ferries run from Central and Wan Chai to the Hung Hom ferry pier ( Map).
MTR Take the Tsuen Wan line to Tsim Sha Tsui station ( Map). East Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hong stations ( Map) are on the MTR East Rail.
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Free guided tours of the museum are available in English at 10.30am and 2.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
HONG KONG SCIENCE MUSEUM Map
2732 3232; http://hk.science.museum/eindex.php; 2 Science Museum Rd; adult/concession $25/12.50, admission free Wed; 1-9pm Mon-Wed & Fri, 10am-9pm Sat, Sun & public holidays; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit B2)
Illustrating the fundamental workings of technology, such as computers and telecommunications, and practical demonstrations of the laws of energy, physics and chemistry, the Hong Kong Science Museum is a great hands-on experience capable of entertaining adults as well as children. There are more than 500 displays.
TSIMSHA TSUI EAST & HUNG HOM
HONG KONG OBSERVATORY Map
2926 8200; www.hko.gov.hk; 134A Nathan Rd; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui & Jordan
This historic monument, built in 1883, is sadly not open to the public. It continues to monitor Hong Kong’s weather and sends out those frightening signals when a typhoon is heading for the territory (see boxed text).
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YAU MA TEI
Shopping Click here; Eating Click here; The Arts Click here; Sleeping Click here
Immediately to the north of Tsim Sha Tsui is Yau Ma Tei ( Map), pronounced ‘yàu-màa-dáy’ and meaning ‘Place of Sesame Plants’. Today the only plants you’ll find in this heavily urbanised neighbourhood are in the window boxes of tàwng-láu, the crumbling six-storey tenements that don’t have lifts and more often than not have illegal huts on the roof. The narrow streets full of shops and tenement buildings in Yau Ma Tei are much the same as those further south and north in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, making this district practically indistinguishable from its neighbours.
Yau Ma Tei starts at Jordan Rd and reaches north to somewhere between Waterloo Rd and Argyle St. King’s Park is its border to the east, while to the west it reaches Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter in Victoria Harbour, the West Kowloon reclamation site, and the Kowloon station of the Tung Chung MTR and Airport Express lines.
Yau Ma Tei’s narrow byways are good places to check out Hong Kong’s more traditional urban society. It’s especially rewarding to stroll along the streets running east to west between Kansu St and Jordan Rd, including Nanking St (mahjong shops and parlours), Ning Po St (paper kites and votives, such as houses, mobile phones and hell money