Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [69]
MAI PO NATURE RESERVE Map
2471 3480; San Tin, Yuen Long; admission $120 (plus $200 deposit); 9am-5pm; 76K from Fanling & Sheung Shui MTR East Rail stations or Yuen Long (On Tat Square station)
The 270-hectare nature reserve includes the Mai Po Visitor Centre ( 2471 8272) at the northeastern end, where you must register; the Mai Po Education Centre ( 2482 0369) to the south, with displays on the history and ecology of the wetland and Deep Bay; floating boardwalks and trails through the mangroves and mud flats; and a dozen hides (towers or huts from where you can watch birds up close without being observed). Disconcertingly, the cityscape of Shenzhen looms to the north.
Visitors are advised to bring binoculars (they may be available for rent at the visitor centre for $20) and cameras, and to wear comfortable walking shoes or boots but not bright clothing. It is best to visit at high tide (minimum 2m), when birds in their tens of thousands – mostly ducks, gulls, cormorants and kingfishers, but many rare species as well – flock to the area. Ring the weather hotline ( 187 8200) or the Hong Kong Observatory ( 2926 8200; www.hko.gov.hk/tide/etide_main.htm) for tidal times.
Foreign visitors (but not Hong Kong residents) can visit the nature reserve unaccompanied, but numbers are limited so call well in advance to book a time. Pay the $100 entrance fee and $200 deposit at the visitor centre; the latter will be returned when you leave the reserve. For Hong Kong residents regular tours are run on weekends and public holidays. Again, these should be booked well in advance. If visiting on a weekend or holiday, call the Visitor Centre number above.
The World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong (WWFHK; Map; 2526 1011 24hr hotline; www.wwf.org.hk; 1 Tramway Path), adjacent to the entrance of the Peak Tram in Central, can arrange guided visits to the marsh; ring between 9am and 5pm on weekdays to book. Three-hour tours ($70) leave the visitor centre at 9am, 9.30am, 10am, 2pm, 2.30pm and 3pm on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, but are conducted in English only when there are at least 10 visitors.
Bus 76K, which runs between Yuen Long and the Fanling and Sheung Shui MTR East Rail stations, will drop you off at Mai Po Lo Wai, a village along the main road just east of the marsh. The WWFHK car park is about a 20-minute walk from there. Red minibus 17 from San Fat St in Sheung Shui also goes to Mai Po Lo Wai. Alternatively, a taxi from Sheung Shui will cost $60.
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KAM TIN
The area around Kam Tin (Fertile Field; Map) is where the Tangs, the first of Hong Kong’s mighty Five Clans, settled in the 12th century AD and where they eventually built their walled villages (Click here).
Walled villages, which usually had moats, are a reminder that Hong Kong’s early settlers were constantly menaced by marauding pirates, bandits and imperial soldiers. They remain one of the most popular destinations for visitors to the New Territories.
Kam Tin contains two fortified villages: Kat Hing Wai and Shui Tau Tsuen. Most tourists go to Kat Hing Wai, as it is just off Kam Tin Rd, the main thoroughfare, and easily accessible. Shui Tau Tsuen is larger and less touristy, but don’t expect to find remnants of ancient China. For details on Ping Kong, a seldom-visited walled village to the northeast, see Click here.
KAT HING WAI Map
64K
This tiny village is 500 years old and was walled in some time during the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644). It contains just one main street, off which a host of dark and narrow alleyways lead. There are quite a few new buildings and retiled older ones in the village. A small temple stands at the end of the street.
Visitors are asked to make a donation when they enter the village; put the money in the coin slot by the entrance. You can take photographs of the old Hakka women in their traditional black trousers, tunics and