Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
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Causeway Bay, a district of many different aspects, lies to the east of the city center. Here, within the specially constructed typhoon shelter, are the moorings for the luxury craft of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (which still clings stubbornly to the "Royal" in its name), as well as some 250 junks and sampans occupied by a thousand or so of Hong Kong's boat-dwellers.To the south of the Yacht Club are the World Trade Centre and the Noon-Day Gun. Also in Causeway Bay, on Times Square, is Hong Kong's tallest skyscraper, the Central Plaza (fine views from the Sky Lobby on the 46th floor).The typhoon shelter here, protected by breakwaters, is the second largest of Hong Kong's typhoon havens, the largest being the harbor of Aberdeen. Here there are a few hundred people living on boats - a much smaller number than a few years ago.
Related Attractions
Noon-Day Gun (Jardine's Gun)
Much history surrounds the cannon fired each day at noon, across from the Excelsior Hotel.
Tiger Balm Garden (Hong Kong Gardens)
This well-known (and controversial) leisure park was laid out in 1935 by Aw Boon Haw (the "Tiger"), who had become a multi-millionaire from the sale of his "Tiger Balm" ointment. In this "Chinese Disneyland" - in the borderland between art and kitsch - are garish plaster reproductions of dragons and other fabulous animals from Chinese mythology, artificial mountains with caves and grottoes, and representations of life in old China.In contrast to this are the imposing white pagoda, 50m/165ft high, and Aw Boon Haw's palatial mansion, built in traditional Chinese style, which houses his famous collection of jade. The collection can be viewed by prior arrangement (apply to the Hong Kong Tourist Association).
Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Hong Kong's municipal park, lies between Victoria Park Road and Causeway Road, to the east of the Causeway Bay shopping center. It has an open-air swimming pool (open in summer), tennis courts, roller-skating rinks and (by the standards of central Hong Kong) unusually large areas of grass and trees. The park is the scene of open-air concerts, cycle races and many cultural events. The Mid-Autumn Festival in September attracts thousands of people carrying lanterns in a kind of harvest thanksgiving festival, with a variety of popular entertainments and an abundance of food and drink.
Sampan Trips
In the months of April to October, from about 8 o'clock in the evening, visitors can enjoy a succulent meal of fish on one of the sampans which are rowed round the harbor by women. The boats can be hired by the hour, but it is essential to agree a price in advance. There are no set menus: you make up your own meal by buying shrimps, crayfish, shellfish, etc., from the kitchen sampans which come alongside. These boats are continually changing their mooring-places; up-to-date information can be obtained from hotel reception.
Tung Yee Village
Looking on to the typhoon shelter are the Excelsior Hotel, with an air-conditioned shopping arcade, and Tung Yee Village (small shops selling craft articles and Chinese medicines).Nearby are various department stores (mainly Japanese, such as Daimaru and Sogo), countless small shops and boutiques, theaters, cinemas and the famous Food Street with its numerous restaurants.
