Hong Kong, Asia World City, is visited by millions of travelers every year, but unfortunately most of them settle for a short visit that includes the familiar clichés of Victoria Peak, Stanley Market, Nathan Road and Star Ferry, not knowing that the The city has so much more to offer… This article will take you to Shau Kei Wan – an area that has some very interesting tourist spots and is easy to explore.

Shau ​​Kei Wan is located on the eastern tip of the north shore of Hong Kong Island, not far from Causeway Bay, and like many other Hong Kong suburbs, it began to develop around 200 years ago, when a A group of local fishermen discovered the typhoon shelter and established a small village…

Getting here is very easy: you can take the MTR along the blue marked Island Line to Shau Kei Wan Station, or take the tram to its terminus Shau Kei Wan (which is a short walk from the MTR Station). )

Shing Wong Temple, our first destination today, is a stone’s throw from the tram terminus, on Kam Wa Street (near the corner of Shau Kei Wan Main Street East). Originally built in 1877, it was the first temple in Hong Kong dedicated to Shing Wong, who is the “god of the city” in Chinese mythology and is responsible for managing the ghosts and spirits of the city he is in charge of. ..

If you are coming by MTR, use Exit C and turn left onto Mong Lung Street as soon as you exit the station, then left again onto Kam Wa St., cross the small roundabout where the tram terminus is and you will see the small temple on your left.

After visiting the temple, walk back to the tram terminus and turn right onto Shau Kei Wan Main Street East. A short walk down the street will bring you to a small Tin Hau temple that was built in the 1870s and houses some nice murals and beautiful religious artifacts.

Keep walking on Shau Kei Wan Main St. East. The narrow street, which used to mark the seafront until the 1860s, is lined with all kinds of exotic shops and authentic restaurants worth visiting.

A short walk will bring you to the corner of A Kung Ngam Village Road, where you will turn right and walk towards one of the only remaining ‘traditional villages’ on Hong Kong Island. Right next to the declining old village is another small historic temple, built in honor of Yuk Wong (Jade Emperor), the Taoist ruler of heaven and all the realms of existence below…

From here, we enter the small street next to the Hang Tung Resource Center, cross the main street under the overpass, turn right and walk towards Shau Kei Wan’s main attraction – the Hong Kong Coastal Defense Museum.

Housed in one of the most powerful coastal forts the British have ever built, this excellent museum consists of two sections: the museum itself, housed within the redoubt built in 1887, is home to a permanent exhibition displaying “600 Years Hong Kong Coastal Defence”. , while the open-air historical trail takes the visitor through the different structures of the Lei Yue Mun fort.

Built in the 1880s to guard the eastern entrance to Victoria Harbour, Lei Yue Mun Fort was a state-of-the-art coastal fortification, in terms of those days… The historic trail passes the batteries, the ditch, the Gunpowder Factory and the Torpedo Station, and although many of those structures were damaged during the Japanese invasion, in WWII, there is still a lot to see… The cannons and coastal guns are also on display, and if you have any interest in military history , surely worth the visit (otherwise the views over the Lei Yue Mun canal are also fantastic).

The permanent exhibition focuses on the history of coastal defense in Hong Kong and South China for more than 600 years, from the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) to the present day, and the exhibits include hundreds of historical artifacts such as uniforms, old weapons, letters, maps and all that…

From the museum, take a few minutes’ walk along Tam Kung Temple Road, past the wholesale fish market and boat shelter, to Tam Kung Temple – a newly renovated temple built in 1905 to worship Tam Kung, a deity Marine. worshiped in Hong Kong and Macao. Although it is relatively small, the temple is lavishly decorated and worth visiting.

That’s all… From the temple, you can return to Shau Kei Wan Main Street East and enjoy lunch at one of the restaurants, before heading back to the MTR station or tram terminus.