Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [62]
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NEW KOWLOON
Shopping Click here; Eating Click here; The Arts Click here
New Kowloon ( Map) encompasses as many as 20 different neighbourhoods, but only half a dozen are of much interest to travellers. From west to east they are Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Diamond Hill. The majority (and the places of interest described in this section) are within easy reach of an MTR station.
Sham Shui Po
A residential area of high-rises, Sham Shui Po ( Map) is famous for its market and computer emporiums (see Click here). North of (and easily accessible from) the district is Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb, an important archaeological find.
APLIU STREET MARKET Map
Apliu St, btwn Nam Cheong St & Yen Chow St; noon-midnight; MTR Sham Shui Po
From the Sham Shui Po MTR station, take exit A1 and you’ll soon fall right into this flea market, which makes a cheaper and more interesting hunting ground than the Temple Street Night Market ( Click here) to the south. Everything from clothing to antique clocks and coins is on sale here, although the real speciality is secondhand electronic goods – radios, mobile phones, stereo systems, amplifiers and spare parts. The market spills over into Pei Ho St.
LEI CHENG UK HAN TOMB MUSEUM Map
2386 2863; www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/en/lcuht.php; 41 Tonkin St; admission free; 10am-6pm Mon-Wed & Fri-Sat, 1-6pm Sun & public holidays; MTR Cheung Sha Wan (exit A3), 2 from the Star Ferry or 2A from Nathan Rd in Mong Kok, alight in front of the museum
First, a warning: this is a bit of a journey for what is an anticlimactic peek through perspex. Don’t expect a terracotta army, but for those interested in the area’s ancient history, this is a hugely significant burial vault dating from the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220). It is one of Hong Kong’s earliest surviving historical monuments and, believe it or not, was once on the coast.
The tomb consists of four barrel-vaulted brick chambers that take the form of a cross; they are set around a domed central chamber and many of the bricks contained moulded patterns of fish, dragons and the like. It’s encased in a concrete shell for protection and visitors can only peep through a plastic window. The museum also contains a few pottery and bronze pieces taken from the tomb.
From Cheung Sha Wan MTR take exit A3 and walk northeast for 10 minutes along Tonkin St.
Kowloon Tong
As well as containing two of Hong Kong’s most prestigious seats of learning – Hong Kong Baptist University ( Map; 3411 7400; Baptist University Rd, Kowloon), Hong Kong’s most generously endowed seat of higher learning, and City University of Hong Kong ( Map; 2788 7654; Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon) – Kowloon Tong also has bridal shops with names like Cité du Louvre, where brides-to-be can buy their finery, have their photos done and even attend the ceremony itself. It is also a neighbourhood of knocking shops – ‘no-tells’, as one wag called them – with revolving beds, velvet-flock wallpaper and heart-shaped jacuzzis. They’re very popular for ‘matinees’ and are rented by the hour.
FESTIVAL WALK Map
2844 2223; 80-88 Tat Chee Ave; 11am-10pm; MTR Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong can claim Festival Walk, the territory’s most luxurious shopping complex. In typical Hong Kong fashion, the centre boasts a fair few superlatives itself: Festival Walk has the largest cinema, bookshop and ice-skating rink (Click here) in the territory. From the Kowloon Tong MTR station, take exit C2.
Kowloon City
Just west of what was once Kai Tak International Airport, the rather low-rent neighbourhood of Kowloon City ( Map) has two drawcards: a wonderful park that was once the infamous Kowloon Walled City, and a string of authentic and excellent-value Thai restaurants (Click here). The old airport sits on a prime chunk of land, which is slowly being redeveloped.
KOWLOON WALLED