Copyright © 2012 Asia-Pacific Guides Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asia Pacific Guides ™

Hong Kong Seeing the city from different angles

Hong Kong is unquestionably one of the world's most scenic cities and its skyline is possibly the most photographed on earth. This article will take you on a short and pleasant afternoon trip to some of this city's most beautiful vantage points, from where you can get plenty of fantastic photo ops. Our short trip starts at an early afternoon hour (twoish-threeish), when we take the MTR's Tung Chung Line and travel with it to Kowloon Station, right next to the Elements Shopping Mall, from where we proceed to our first destination for today. Sky100, one of Hong Kong's newest and most exciting attractions, is perched on the 100th floor of the city's tallest building, International Commerce Centre, at a height of almost 400 m above sea level, and provides spectacular panoramic views of HK Island, Victoria Harbour, Kowloon and the New Territories, all the way to the border with mainland China and Lantau Island. It is the world's third highest observation deck, preceded only by the ones at Shanghai World Financial Centre and Burj Khlaifa in Dubai. (If you come from Tsim sha Tsui, take the purple-marked West Rail Line from Tsim sha Tsui East to Austin Station, which is only a few minutes' walk from the tower: Leave Austin MTR Station through exit D-2, turn left and almost immediately right, to Austin Road West, and walk along it for five minutes or so, till you see the vividly painted Elements Shopping Mall on your right). After leaving Sky100, walk via Austin Road West to Austin MTR Station and ride the subway one station, to East Tsim sha Tsui, from where you can walk to Star Ferry Pier and cruise across Victoria Harbour to Central, on Hong Kong Island. The short journey from Tsim sha Tsui to Central is, perhaps, the world's nicest and most photographed ferry cruise.

As you leave the Star Ferry terminus in Central, board the open-top Peak Tram shuttle bus (No. 15C), and it will bring you to the Peak Tram Lower Terminus on Garden Road in just a few minutes... From here you can ride the 120 years old Peak Tram all the way up to Victoria Peak, right below HK Island's highest summit. When reaching "The Peak", you can opt for the Sky Terrace, which stands at a height of 428 m above sea level and offers a breathtaking 360° panoramic view of Hong Kong and the waters around it. Spending the twilight time at "the peak" will also give you a chance to get a glimpse of the metropolis' picturesque sunset and see how the city's zillion lights start to come to live as night falls... After descending, take bus No. 40 from Garden Road, next to the historic St. John's Cathedral, and ride it all the way to its last stop, outside Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCC). The Golden Bauhinia Square, on the waterfront next to the centre, is the place where the famous handover ceremony took place in 1997, officially marking the end of 150 years of British rule in this corner of the world. This is also one of the BEST places to watch the famous Symphony of Lights show from.

To know more about touring Hong Kong, including suggestions for day tour itineraries, visit our Hong Kong Tours and Attractions Guide, at metropolasia.com. You should also take a look at their Hong Kong Hotels and Accommodation Guide, where you can find good reviews of the city's best hotels, hostels and guesthouses.

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