Let’s talk about Hong Kong’s neighborhoods. Yes, exactly. HK has many neighborhoods, and each has its own unique characteristics that might attract a certain type of tourist. Hence, the question: where to stay in Hong Kong? I asked myself this question before visiting the Chinese metropolis.
The answer may be simpler or more complex than you think, depending on the time and money you’re willing to invest. It’s important to keep in mind that most people have a few days to visit the city, not a couple of weeks like I had.
For this reason, I think it might be helpful to put together a quick, yet not too pedantic, guide to Hong Kong’s neighborhoods. I want to give you, the reader, a general idea of the opportunities a tourist can find in the city’s various districts.
Before starting this brief overview, a few clarifications are absolutely necessary:
I greatly appreciate public transportation, especially when it’s as efficient as Hong Kong’s. Despite this, I always prefer walking, exploring cities step by step, boots on the ground. For me, being a 30-minute or two-hour walk from an attraction makes a noticeable difference. I won’t discuss every neighborhood, nor do I want to go into too much detail about each individual area. I’m certainly not an expert on Hong Kong, and I don’t pretend to be one.
I remain, essentially, a Western tourist, with all my flaws and quirks, so don’t expect imaginative moments of profound understanding of the city’s intrinsic nature, just a practical guide.
Hong Kong neighborhoods, Let’s talk about Central
The district is actually called Central and Western, but the problem is that everyone, at least among tourists, only talks about Central. It’s the financial and touristic hub of Hong Kong Island. We could say that when you think of Hong Kong, if you imagine skyscrapers, traffic, and the frenetic hustle and bustle on the sidewalks, you think of Central.
If we move from the collective imagination to more mundane personal experiences, I have to say I’m not exactly a fan of Central. Sure, there are the escalators and the small, interesting Soho Hong Kong neighborhood, of course there are the glittering shopping malls like Landmark and Central Market, the Tai Kwun museum (that is a gem to be honest, with a mix of shops, museum and art expo), various exhibitions, and restaurants, not to mention the Ferris wheel and the amusement park on the seaside promenade with views of the Kowloon Peninsula.
In short, there are so many things to see, so many of the attractions that tourists queue up for when they come to Hong Kong. Period.
I must also add that:
- “Behind” Central there is Victoria Peak (link in Italian) with its Peak Tram. The lush nature of this hill is a stark contrast to the gleaming concrete of the city, and there’s a dramatic view of one of Asia’s magical cities.
- From the piers overlooking the bay, you can take the ferry to Macau.
So, this is all true, but…I didn’t particularly like Central.
It could be the absurdly high number of people swarming the narrow sidewalks, it could be the higher prices of hotels and restaurants (that’s a relative, I admit, a thousand factors can make the price of a hotel or restaurant go up or down), it could be the obnoxious luxury prevailing in shopping malls but also on the streets.
Btw, Sotheby’s, the auction house, has museums where pieces are on display and for sale in only four cities in the world: London, Paris, New York, and, of course, Hong Kong. Moreover, this Sotheby’s museum is open to the public and it is very interesting, both for the variety and quality of the pieces on display, and for the fact that they have a price tag, in case you are an art enthusiast and financially well-off.
To cut it short, I found Central beautiful and interesting, but a bit too demanding, vaguely exhausting. For this reason, let’s move on to the next neighborhood in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods, dear old Wan Chai
This is the neighborhood where I “ended up.” I use the term “ended up” because it was a choice dictated equally by chance, geography, and prices. In any case, I have no regrets whatsoever about what fate and I negotiated as our home base for exploring beautiful Hong Kong.
Wan Chai was, at least historically, famous for its military pier, soldiers on leave, a few dimly lit brothels, and several, more or less shady bars (how can you not love a place like this?).
These days, the bars aren’t at all shady, the shopping malls are only a tad less expensive than those in Central, and the district remains very lively, with several interesting restaurants (my personal pick: the Takeroku Ramen chain for an excellent and affordable ramen, The Pasta Shack for Italian pasta if you really want pasta (but only takeout), and then plenty of cafes, including Soft Thunder and Maison Keyser).
I won’t deny it: I liked Wan Chai. A little further from the infernal hustle and bustle of Central, but not too far, the neighborhood also offers the entertainment of the Happy Valley Racecourse sports center, whose flagship event is horse racing (usually on Wednesday nights), but which also hosts soccer matches, with the not-so-strong Hong Kong Football Club calling the racecourse home.
Victoria Park and Causeway Bay are also not too far away, and the number 15 bus to Victoria Peak passes through here, so if I had to give a completely personal recommendation, I’d still choose Wan Chai for a stay in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods, Eastern and Southern
Let’s just say these are two rather unusual neighborhoods for a tourist to stay, especially Southern.
Eastern is home to Causeway Bay, Victoria Park, Hong Kong’s famous monster building, the one you’ve seen in a thousand photos with 50 floors and a thousand apartments (Quarry Bay, to be precise), and then a beautiful waterfront overlooking the Kowloon Peninsula, overlooked by some rather prominent hotels.
Southern is home to Repulse Bay Beach and the towns of Stanley and Aberdeen. Public transportation is always very efficient, but aside from a few specific reasons, I don’t see why you’d choose this area as a base for visiting Hong Kong. Sure, it’s much greener, and the tropical island feel is even more impressive, were it not for the enormous container ships you’ll see on the horizon. Sure, there might be good hotel deals, perhaps with beach and pool access, but keep in mind that almost all the tourist attractions are on the other side of the island.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods: Kowloon Peninsula, TST aka Tsim Sha Tsui
After Central, TST is perhaps the most popular neighborhood among tourists and, along with Jordan, Yau Ma Tei (where I stayed for a week before moving to Wan Chai), Mong Kok, and Sham Shui Po, remains the backbone of the Kowloon Peninsula and the decidedly most “Chinese” part of the city.
Okay, don’t look at me the wrong way. All of Hong Kong is certainly Chinese, but while there are many Europeans on the island — perhaps 20% of the people you’ll see walking the streets — TST, YMT, Jordan, and Mong Kok are more typically Asian. The high-rises are generally older, some in a really run-down state, others gleaming.
Street markets, both for food and electronics (the particularly famous one on Apliu Street, but more on that later), are everywhere, and even the shopping malls have a slightly more ’80s feel (not all, but one in particular I thought was really cute, the Dragon Center).
TST has museums (including the History and Art museums), the Avenue of the Stars with its bay views, and plenty of shopping malls, Kowloon Park, the Xiqu Center, excellent cafes, and the entire Harbour City shopping area. After Wan Chai, it’s my favorite neighborhood and a classic for a tourist who doesn’t have much time to spare.
Kowloon Peninsula, Kowloon City
I’ve only been passing through Kowloon City. The neighborhood is very large, expanding eastward as you move away from Tsim Sha Tsui. From a tourist perspective, the area has fewer attractions than Tsim Sha Tsui and Hong Kong Island, but for this reason alone it’s worth considering, especially if you want to immerse yourself in the life of a regular Hong Kong citizen.
Not that markets, shopping malls, and points of interest are lacking. Kowloon City was home to Kowloon Walled City and now is a Park, but until a few years ago was one of the most densely populated places on earth, where between 36,000 and 50,000 people lived in an area roughly the size of four football fields. The area was a Chinese enclave within the New Territories ceded by China to the United Kingdom in 1898.
In 1994, the area was sold to the United Kingdom, which rehoused the residents and completely demolished the buildings to make way for a public park (I’m not sure if this qualifies as gentrification, but the architects will be able to clarify).
A couple of interesting shopping centers are the Wampoa (shaped like a yacht, so you’ll see a ship appear in the middle of the city) and MegaBox, which occasionally hosts exhibitions and even has an ice skating rink.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods, Kowloon Peninsula, Sham Shui Po
We’re approaching the New Territories, but we’re just a little north of Mong Kok. The atmosphere is much more Asian and much less European, but don’t be fooled — we’re still in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
In this area, there’s a very interesting flea market, especially for electronics, which, being a true nerd, I naturally went to visit: the Apliu Street Market. Not far away, there’s also a shopping mall unlike any you’ve seen around HK anymore, the Dragon Center, with many small, privately run shops and a very good food court offering excellent value.
A special mention goes to a very interesting bar, on the border between Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po, called Bound. Go there for an aperitivo and you’ll thank me.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods: finally, let’s talk about the New Territories
The New Territories are, in fact, the territories ceded by China to the United Kingdom after the Second Opium War, at the end of the 19th century.
If you’re a Hong Kong enthusiast and have been there several times, this is where the most interesting things are “hidden”. Mountains, forests, semi-deserted bays, hiking trails, small historic villages: the New Territories are something very different from Hong Kong city.
Of course, this area has well-known tourist attractions like Disney World, Lantau or Lamma Island, and the World Asia Expo, but you’ll also find gems like fishing villages (Lau Fau Shan) or historic towns (the most famous is Kat Hing Wai).
The New Territories are a very interesting place that I would recommend to anyone who has already visited Hong Kong and is looking for a slightly more relaxed experience.
Hong Kong’s neighborhoods, conclusion
We’ve reached the end of this journey through the neighborhoods of beautiful Hong Kong. If you’ve had the courage to follow me to this truly anticlimatic conclusion, I can only reiterate one thing: HK is a city you absolutely must see, and the choice of location and neighborhood in which to stay depends largely on your preferences and the time you have to visit the city.
I personally had two weeks, one on the Kowloon Peninsula, in the TST area, and the other in Wan Chai. I loved both neighborhoods and would be willing to choose this districts again.
Those with very limited time might prefer Central, but, again, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong neighborhood. Furthermore, since I often talk about dangerous or supposedly dangerous places on the blog, it’s important to point out that the level of security in Hong Kong is very high everywhere, and you’ll never have to worry about accidentally wandering into some off-limits area.
That said, the choice is yours, and don’t tell me you chose to stay at Disney World….
We’ve reached the end of the post on Hong Kong’s neighborhoods. If you want to continue, here are some ideas:
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