125 Best Sights in Hong Kong, China

The spectacular strut-and-ladder facade of this Lord Norman Foster building makes it one of the most important structures in 20th-century architecture. Look up into the atrium through the curved glass floor, or duck inside for a view of the building's mechanics.

Food left out on the street and smoldering piles of paper are everywhere during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Replicas of houses, cars, and traditional "hell money" are burned as offerings to the ancestral spirits allowed to roam the earth for these two weeks, when the gates of hell are opened. It's on 15th day of the seventh moon, usually in August or September.

One building towers above the Central skyline: Two IFC. The slender second tower of the International Finance Centre has been compared to at least one—unprintable—thing and is topped with a clawlike structure. Designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, its 88 floors top a whopping 1,352 feet. Opposite stands its dinky little brother, the 38-floor One IFC. The massive IFC Mall stretches between the two, and Hong Kong Station is underneath. If you wish to see the breathtaking views from Two IFC, visit the 55th-floor Hong Kong Monetary Authority. While there, take a quick look at exhibits tracing the history of banking in Hong Kong. Upon arrival, you might need to register your passport with the concierge.

The Mid-Levels Escalator zooms by the first mosque in Hong Kong. Commonly known as the Lascar Temple, the original 1840s structure was rebuilt in 1915 and shows its Indian heritage in the perforated arches and decorative facade work. The mosque isn't open to non-Muslims, but it occupies a small, verdant enclosure that's a welcome retreat.

Just behind the IFC is a notable '60s skyscraper recognizable by its many round windows. The 52-level building is home to Jardine, Matheson & Co., the greatest of the old British hongs (trading companies) that dominated trade with imperial China. Once linked to opium trafficking, the firm is now a respected investment bank.

Trams clatter along this busy road, which is choked with traffic day and night. It's also packed with shops selling food, cell phones, herbal tonics, and bargain-basement clothes. Rattan furniture, picture frames, paper lanterns, and Chinese calligraphic materials make up the more traditional assortment at Queen's Road East, which runs parallel to Johnston Road. The lanes that stretch between the two roads are also lined with stalls, forming a mini-market of clothing and accessories.

From priceless ornaments to plastic pendants, if it's green and shiny, it's here. Quality and prices at the stalls vary hugely, so if you're not with a jade connoisseur, stick with the cheap and cheerful.

With its mazelike detours and dizzying neon signs, Kowloon can be a bit chaotic for the first-time visitor but a guided Kowloon Market Walk will take you through the nooks and crannies of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok. You'll shop at famed street markets that sell everything from fine jade to cheap clothing and brightly colored goldfish in small plastic bags.

Hong Kong's largest Islamic worship center stands in front of Kowloon Park. Visitors can call ahead to arrange for a tour or simply drop by the building, which was designed by noted Indian architect I. M. Kadri. In addition to prayer halls, the complex includes a medical clinic and a library.

These 33 acres, crisscrossed by paths and meticulously landscaped, are a refreshing retreat after a bout of shopping. In addition to children's playgrounds, a fitness trail, soccer field, aviary, Chinese garden, and sculpture garden, on Sunday and public holidays there are stalls with arts and crafts, as well as a kung fu corner.

One of Hong Kong's most beautiful parks, Kowloon Walled City Park is designed in Qing-dynasty style. In previous centuries it was a walled military site, then a notorious slum. Today the major attraction is the Yamen—the imperial government administrative building—the only remaining structure from the original Walled City and an example of southern Chinese architecture of the 19th century. There are also a number of traditional gardens on the grounds, and eight zones showcasing different flora that you can see on free 45-minute guided tours on weekends. Hong Kong's Thai community is based in the streets south of the park, and there are countless hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurants. Bus 113 stops nearby, or take the MTR to Kowloon Tong and take a cab.

People from throughout Hong Kong come to these two banyan trees to make wishes and offerings. Some burn joss sticks and incense; others used to throw an orange—tied to a wish written on a piece of paper—up into a tree (if it caught on a branch the wish would come true). Unfortunately, the weight of the oranges caused several branches to fall off and the practice has ended. Now, when people visit the trees—often during exam time or when the health of a loved one is in jeopardy—they tie the joss paper onto nearby wooden racks. Take the East Rail line to Tai Po Market train station, then take Bus 64K or 64P, or Minibus 25K.

In Hong Kong the word "nightlife" is synonymous with LKF, a few narrow lanes filled with bars and clubs uphill from the intersection of Queen's Road Central and Pedder Street. Wyndham Street has a series of high-caliber antiques shops, as well as more drinking spots.

The most glorious views of Lantau—and beyond—are from atop Lantau Peak, but at 3,064 feet, the mountaintop experience is not for the fainthearted. The ascent up the mountain that locals call Fung Wong Shan requires a strenuous 7½-mile hike west from Mui Wo, or you can begin at the Po Lin Monastery—still a demanding two hours. You can also take Bus 23 to a trail that is closer to the summit, and climb from Stage 3 of the Lantau Trail. The most striking views are at sunrise, particularly between December and February, when the air is dry and the sky is clear.

The Chinese New Year festivities end with the overwhelmingly red Lantern Festival. Hong Kong's parks—especially Victoria Park—become a sea of light as people, mostly children, gather with beautifully shaped paper or cellophane lanterns. It's also a traditional day for playful matchmaking, so it's particularly auspicious for single people. It's held on the 15th day of the first moon, usually in February.

This restored Hakka house was once the home of the Law family, who arrived here from Guangdong in the mid-18th century. It's the perfect example of a triple-jian, double-lang residence. Jian are enclosed rooms—here, the bedroom, living room, and workroom at the back. The front storeroom and kitchen are the lang, where the walls don't reach up to the roof, and thus allow air in. Although the museum is small, informative texts outside and displays of rural furniture and farm implements inside give a powerful idea of what rural Hong Kong was like. It's definitely worth a trip to bustling industrial Chai Wan, at the eastern end of the MTR, to see it. Photos show what the area looked like in the 1930s—these days a leafy square is the only reminder of the woodlands and fields that once surrounded this buttermilk-color dwelling.

The easiest way to access the trail to Lion Rock, a spectacular summit, is from Kowloon. The hike passes through dense bamboo groves along the Eagle's Nest Nature Trail and up open slopes to Beacon Hill for 360-degree views over hills and the city. The contrasting vistas of green hills and the cityscape are extraordinary. There's a climb up the steep, rough track to the top of Lion Rock, a superb vantage point for appreciating Kowloon's setting between hills and sea. The trail ends at Wong Tai Sin Taoist Temple, where you can have your fortune told. To start, catch the MTR to Choi Hung (25 minutes from Tsim Sha Tsui) and a 10-minute taxi ride up Lion Rock to Gilwell Campsite. At the end of the road you'll see a sign indicating the start of the trail. From Wong Tai Sin, return by MTR.

Founded by a National Geographic writer and staffed by local foodies, these private tours are customized for your personal tastes and interests. Highlights include kitchen visits and insider access to some of Hong Kong's best-kept secrets.

In the far northern New Territories—just south of Shenzhen—a small unmarked path in the village of Sheung Shui leads to this ancestral hall. It was built in 1751 for the rich and prosperous Liu clan, and was one of few such halls that survived the Cultural Revolution. A restoration preserved the spectacular original roof and ornamentation, but substituted concrete walls to take the weight off rickety pillars—at some cost to the site's aesthetic unity. Take the East Rail Line to Sheung Shui, then Bus 70X, and alight at the Sheung Shui Bus Terminus on Jockey Club Road.

High above Wan Chai sits the suggestively shaped monolith known as Lovers' Rock, or Yan Yuen Shek. It's a frequent destination among local single women, who burn joss sticks and make offerings in hope of finding a husband. Not in the market? The walk along Bowen Road offers excellent views over the city, particularly at dusk. The easiest way up is on Minibus 24A from the Admiralty MTR station.

Adjacent to the Tai Po Market is the temple that was built in 1892 to commemorate the establishment of the town of Tai Po. As you draw near, you'll smell the incense offered by worshippers.

Families and friends gather to admire the full moon while munching on moon cakes, which are traditionally stuffed with lotus-seed paste, though many other varieties—from chocolate to black truffle—are also popular. Colorful paper lanterns fill Hong Kong's parks, and a 220-foot-long "fire dragon" dances through the streets of Tai Hang near Victoria Park. Look for it in September or October.

The unimaginatively named Mid-Levels district is halfway up the hill between the Western and Central districts and Victoria Peak. Running through it is the world's longest covered outdoor escalator, which connects to several main residential streets and walkways. Free of charge and protected from the elements, this series of moving walkways makes the uphill journey a cinch. Before 10 am the escalators only move downward, carrying an endless stream of workers and their cups of coffee.

Mui Wo is a sleepy little town, but it has some good waterfront restaurants. Silvermine Bay Beach, a pleasant sandy stretch, is a half-mile northeast of the ferry pier. A gentle uphill trail leads to the Silvermine Caves and Waterfall, the small 19th-century mine that gave the bay its English name.

The Lei Yue Mun Fort makes for an appropriate home for the Museum of Coastal Defence. The museum is in the redoubt, a high area of land overlooking the narrowest point of the harbor; you take an elevator and cross an aerial walkway to reach it. As well as the fascinating historical displays indoors, there's a historical trail complete with tunnels, cannons, and observation posts.

Running for several miles, this street is filled with hotels, restaurants, malls, and boutiques—retail space is so costly that the southern end is dubbed the Golden Mile. The mile's most famous tower block is ramshackle Chungking Mansions, packed with cheap hotels and Indian restaurants. The building was a setting for local director Wong Kar-Wai's film Chungking Express. To the left and right are mazes of narrow streets with even more shops selling jewelry, electronics, clothes, souvenirs, and cosmetics.

A block east of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club stands the Noonday Gun, which Noël Coward made famous in his song Mad Dogs and Englishmen. It's still fired by a Jardine Matheson employee at noon every day. It is said that the tradition began when a Jardine employee fired a gun in salute of the company's head arriving at the port, angering an officer of the Royal Navy.

Most Hong Kongers have fond childhood memories of this aquatic theme park. It was built by the omnipresent Hong Kong Jockey Club on 170 hilly acres overlooking the sea just east of Aberdeen. Highlights include the resident pandas, an enormous aquarium, and the Ocean Theatre, where dolphins and seals perform. Youngsters love thrill rides like the gravity-defying Hair Raiser, as well as the Water World waterpark, added in 2019. The park is accessible by the MTR's South Island Line. From Admiralty Station, the ride takes about four minutes. There are also a number of buses, including the 629; get off at the stop after the Aberdeen tunnel.

If you have kids, plan to spend a day here. You can even stay the night: Marriott's 471-room hotel has a 52-foot-high, cylindrical aquarium in its lobby.

In the 19th century, Cheung Chau Island was a haven for pirates like the notorious Cheung Po Tsai, whose treasure cave is reportedly on the island's southwest tip. The temple here is dedicated to Pak Tai, the god of the sea, who is supposed to have rid the island of pirates. The renovated temple originally dates to 1783, when an image of Pak Tai was brought to appease the spirits of people killed by pirates, thought to be the source of bubonic plague outbreaks. Apparently he did the trick: he remains the island's favorite deity. Beside the main altar are four whalebones from the nearby sea.

Make a full day of your trip to Cheung Chau, a gorgeous island with several temples. A walk around the island takes in several temples and the pirate cave.

New World First Ferry sails to Cheung Chau twice hourly from Central Ferry Pier 5. Normal ferries take 55 minutes, fast ones 35. Turn left from the Cheung Chau ferry pier and walk ½ km (¼ mile) along waterfront Praya Street, until you see the temple to your right, over a playground.

This hip and happening area has a long history: back in the 1880s, this was the campus of the Central School, where Dr. Sun Yat-sen studied. After suffering severe damage in World War II, the area became the city’s first Police Married Quarters. After standing empty for more than a decade, it reopened in 2014 as a design hub where locals could showcase their art, host workshops, arrange pop-up shops—there’s even an atmospheric night market and a handful of excellent restaurants and cozy cafés.

Take advantage of one of the free guided tours of the underground foundations and historic architecture.