Now my son is two, he’s rather heavy for lugging about in backpack carrier. Easier to take the pushcair, for carrying him when tired – or when dawdling too much. This, though, means trying to avoid flights of steps. Just took him for outing in southern Cheung Chau, following good route along trails that are …
Walking in southern Cheung Chau with toddler and pushchair Read More »
Southeast Cheung Chau boasts paths that wind around headlands and curl up and over hillsides, passing through woodland, and near to naturally sculpted giant boulders, once grand but now ruined houses, a couple of temples, a tiny nunnery, and cliffs dropping to the sea. The main trail here is rather fancifully named the Mini Great …
Though most attention on the Bun Festival focuses on the parade day – this year to be held on 24 May – it’s actually held over several days: this year’s Bun Festival starts on 21 May (there’s also a Climbing Carnival the day before) and ends on the 25th. On the Hong Kong Toursim Board’s …
Cheung Chau Bun Festival 2007 – things to see and do 2007年長洲太平清醮 Read More »
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a kind of Jiao Festival – a festival that a village might hold every year or every few years. More specifically, it’s a Tai Ping Qing Jiao [literal meaning: “the Purest Sacrifice celebrated for Great Peace”]. Such festivals were perhaps widespread across south China, but under Mao were regarded …
A Brief History of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival 長洲太平清醮簡史 Read More »
So this is where it all began, the launding point for the career of Hong Kong’s gold medal winning Olympian, Lee Lai-shan (San San): The Cheung Chau Windsurfing Centre. Set on a tiny headland between Cheung Chau’s two main beaches, the centre commands fine views of the island, and eastwards to Lamma and Hong Kong …
Today is the climax of the Bun Festival, the annual blend of carnival and exorcism rituals, which marks the birthday of the island’s leading god, Pak Tei (“Northern King”). At the festival site, in front of the Pak Tei temple, stalls are set out with the paraphernalia of Chinese religious ceremonies.
There is little written history regarding Cheung Chau before the 18th century. But even early last century, some islanders said their families had settled on Cheung Chau hundreds of years ago, and we can guess something regarding the very early history based on some archaeological finds and the history of south China. Fragments of pottery, …
Brief history of Cheung Chau, Hong Kong, to the 19th century Read More »
Though Cheung Chau has surely been settled – albeit not continuously – for thousands of years, it has only one well-known prehistoric site: the Bronze Age stone carving, just below the Warwick Hotel at Tung Wan. It’s thought to be around 3500 years old, as the patterns carved into a granite outcrop are similar to …
Though Cheung Chau’s hotels and holiday flats are modest compared to the fancy hotels in Hong Kong city, they also offer an “away from it all” experience compared to joints in densely packed Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Central. You can enjoy laid-back accommodation including places with balconies overlooking the beach and the South …
Hotels and holiday flats on Cheung Chau, Hong Kong 長洲的度假屋及酒 Read More »
There’s a path leading uphill from beside Pak Tei Temple, up past an old folks’ home. Keep left, and up and up flights of steps, and you’ll come to a small, concrete park. Turn right here, and you can continue uphill, leaving the village to pass through trees, with views over to Lantau Island on …