Hong Kong

Parks and Recreation

Some 40 percent of Hong Kong's land is devoted to its park system, and its 21 parks scattered throughout Hong Kong and Lantau Islands and the New Territories are well used by the citizens. Tai Chi, hiking, bicycling, kite flying, and picnicking are popular activities for which the ultra-urban people of Hong Kong resort to the wooded areas surrounding the city. Hong Kong's water-front setting also provides ample opportunity for aquatic recreation, such as pleasure sailing, waterskiing, and canoeing, and the city has several boating clubs. Organized recreation is also available at community centers.

Among the larger parks are Hong Kong Park in the Central District, which has a Museum of Tea Ware, a greenhouse, an aviary, gardens, and sports facilities. Victoria Park is built on reclaimed land in Causeway Bay and is a typical urban park. Behind the old Governor's House are the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, which have beautiful manicured gardens, a small zoo, and an aviary. In the New Territories, the MacLehose Trail is a 100-kilometer (60-mile) parkway linking eight separate parks and offering dramatic scenery and coastal views.