sky100
Address: 100/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Pottinger Street (Stone Slab Street)
Location: Pottinger Street, Central, Hong Kong
Direction: MTR Central Station Exit C. Head northwest on Des Voeux Road Central toward World Wide Lane, Turn left onto Pottinger Street.
Pottinger Street was originally located between Queen’s Road Central and Hollywood Road. Owing to its steepness, stone slabs were unevenly paved on it to facilitate walking and allow rainwater to flow down along either side. In 1858, the government named it “Pottinger Street” to commemorate the first governor of Hong Kong. But as the whole street was paved with slabs of stone, the local Chinese called it “Stone Slab Street”.
Lan Fong Yuen
Location: Lan Fong Yuen, 2 Gage Street, Central, Hong Kong Island
Opening Hours: 7:00am – 6:00pm Daily
Direction: After walking on the Pottinger Street, Head southwest on Pottinger Street toward Stanley Street, turn right onto Lyndhurst Terrace, and then turn right onto Gage Street.
Lan Fong Yuen is a 50-year-old tea cafés or cha chaan teng in a food stall in Central. It serves delicious Hong Kong style fast food, like the classic Hong Kong style milk tea, pork chop bun and condensed milk butter bun, etc.
SoHo
Location: Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong Island
Direction: After stopping by at Lan Fong Yuen, take the Central to Mid-Levels Escalator and get off at Staunton Street, Shelley Street or Elgin Street.
Referring to the area south of Hollywood Road, SoHo is the multicultural wine, dine and swanky nightlife side of Central. The upmarket bars and exotic restaurants of SoHo’s historic and narrow streets are chic to the extreme.
Come during the day to explore the neighbourhoods attractive fashion boutiques, art galleries and antiques shops. Indulge in lunch and a glass of vino or hang around for sundown, when SoHo really comes into its own.
Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum
Location: 7 Castle Road, Central, Hong Kong Island
Opening Hours:
- Monday to Wednesday, Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
- Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10:00am – 7:00pm
- Christmas Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve: 10:00am – 5:00pm
- Closed on Thursdays (except public holidays, the anniversaries of Dr Sun’s birth on 12 November and death on 12 March), and the first two days of the Chinese New Year
Direction: After visiting SoHo, take the Central to Mid-Levels Escalator to Caine Road, then turn right and walk westwards for approximately 5 minutes.
Guiding the world’s largest nation out of thousands of years of monarchic rule and transforming it into a republic was no small feat, which makes the museum dedicated to the man responsible for doing this even more fascinating. Dr Sun Yat-sen was educated in Hong Kong, and the city served as his base for the 18 years that led up to him officially declaring the Republic of China in 1912.
Housed in the restored Kom Tong Hall (now a declared monument) the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum relives the epoch-making accomplishments of this extraordinary revolutionary, offering exhibition galleries that trace his life and close relationship with Hong Kong.
PMQ
Location: 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong Island
Opening Hours: 7:00am – 11:00pm Daily
Direction: After visiting Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, head southeast on Woodlands Terrace toward Castle Lane, turn left onto Castle Lane, turn right onto Castle Road, sharp left onto Caine Road and then turn right onto Aberdeen Street and walk for around 3 minutes to reach PMQ.
Located in the prime location of SoHo in Hong Kong, PMQ is the landmark of creative industries in Asia’s World City. PMQ was transformed into a creative hub in 2014 filled with over 100 Hong Kong designers showcasing workshops and studios featuring lifestyle, fashion and accessories, architecture, product design, furniture and a wide range of other designer goods. It is also the hottest venue in town for international arts and cultural events from Hong Kong and all around the world.
Man Mo Temple
Location: 124-126 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
Opening Hours: 8:00am – 6:00pm Daily
Direction: from PMQ, walk northeast along Aberdeen Street, then turn left to Hollywood Road, and walk for about a few minutes to Man Mo Temple.
The Man Mo Temple is a picturesque tribute to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo), both of whom were worshiped by ambitious students looking to succeed in the civil examinations of Imperial China. These involved rigorous systems aimed at finding the best administrative officials for the state.
Built in 1847, this remains the largest Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong. To pause for a moment’s respite under its giant hanging incense coils makes for a pleasant contrast with the hectic pace of the nearby financial district.
Man Mo Temple is part of a complex that also includes the areas Lit Shing Kung and Kung Sor. Lit Shing Kung was created for the worship of all heavenly gods, while Kung Sor, built to the temple’s west, was an important assembly hall where community affairs and disputes were often discussed and settled.
In 1908, the temple was officially entrusted to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. It was listed as a Grade I historic building in 2009 and is preserved as a declared monument.
Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street)
Location: Hollywood Road and Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
Direction: After visiting Man Mo Temple, head northwest on Hollywood Road toward Ladder Street, turn right onto Tank Lane, turn left onto Upper Lascar Row.
If you are looking to add a touch of Hong Kong to your home, Upper Lascar Row – known as Cat Street – is where you can find such treasures, within its fantastic congregation of antique dealers, curio merchants and art galleries. This is also the place to go for bargains in jade, silk products, embroideries and wooden handicraft items.
Western Market
Location: 323 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island
Opening Hours: 10:00am – 12:00m.n. Daily
Direction: After visiting the Cat Street, head northwest on Upper Lascar Row toward Tung Street, turn right onto Tung Street, and then walk along Morrison Street to reach the Western Market.
Western Market, renovated in 1991 and converted into a shopping complex, is an Edwardian-style building featuring shops selling arts and crafts, and fabric merchants who were originally located in the old alleys of Central. Completed in 1906, the impressive building has a red brick exterior with a handsome granite arch over its entrance and attractive ‘bandaged’ brickwork. The building is actually a north block extension of a larger market complex that was in operation from the 19th century. It was built on a site formerly occupied by the Harbour Office, which moved to a larger building in Central to cope with its growing workload.