The state of Hong Kong is a magnet for visitors with its many attractions and shopping opportunities, luring travellers from around the globe. A state steeped in history and proud of its legacy, Hong Kong has developed six heritage trails that give visitors the opportunity to understand and appreciate its culture and history.
The first of its kind was established in 1993 in the New Territory and named the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. The Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail too is situated in the New Territories and was opened in 1999. These trails are mainly inhabited by the Tang clan who are one of the ‘five great clans’ who have lived in the New Territories since the 12th century.
These trails capture the rural cultural habits and heritage and include buildings, walled villages, monuments, shrines, ancestral halls, study halls and temples.
The Central and Western District Heritage Trail on the main island together with the Wan Chai Heritage Trail trace the development of culture and social behavior since the time of British rule and on through the urbanization. These trails also cover buildings, monuments and other sites.
The recent Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail is set along the scenic backdrop of the countryside and takes in the irrigation, dam, bridges, aqueducts, valve houses and other water work structures.
Opened in 2011, the latest trail, Taipingshan Medical Heritage Trail follows the development of Hong Kong’s medical history and its unusual and unique developments since the bubonic plague outbreak in the oldest Chinese cities.
Each trail meanders along for a kilometer or more and are an easy and pleasurable way in which to learn Hong Kong’s true history whilst at the same time taking in the country’s scenic beauty in a healthy manner whilst walking.
A visit to Hong Kong would be incomplete without at least taking in one of these trails, each of which would be at most a half a day’s excursion. If travellers seek a Hong Kong hotel from which to base themselves and more specifically a hotel in Kowloon Hong Kong then an ideal choice which is both convenient and luxurious would be The Peninsula Hong Kong.
