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From the A*List Deals Weekly Newsletter
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Nathan Road, Hong Kong, Walking Tour
Excerpt from National Geographic Traveler: Hong Kong
Text by Phil Macdonald Photo by Steve McCurry
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Nathan Road is a spectacle of gaudy stores, bars, hotels, and street hucksters. |
Join the throngs of shoppers and tourists for a wander down Hong Kong's most famous strip. You'll be hustled by touts, bustled by crowds, and dazzled by glittering window displays, but you'll also discover some quiet retreats and get a glimpse into Hong Kong's past.
*Bolded names and numbers in the text below correspond with our map of this tour.
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Start at the southern end of Nathan Road where it intersects with Salisbury Road near the harborfront, and head north alongside the Peninsula Hotel (1). Take a look at the gracious and opulent lobby, then continue on past Middle Road. On the opposite side of Nathan Road is the concrete netherworld of Chungking Mansions (2) (Nos. 36-44), a huge crumbling building with a labyrinth of guest houses with tiny dormitories, small curry restaurants, sweatshops, and stores. It has become the bane of the Hong Kong authorities, who would like to demolish it. Chungking Express (1994) is an excellent movie exploring the sleaze of this monstrosity.
Back on its western side, past Peking and Haiphong Roads, Nathan Road becomes less frenetic. The sidewalk widens at the entrance to Kowloon Park (3) and the crowds thin a little. The park is a pleasant place to escape the noise of Nathan Road. On its edge, on the corner of Haiphong Road, is the elaborate Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Center (4), Hong Kong's largest mosque. Built in 1984, it replaced a mosque constructed in 1896 for British Indian troops garrisoned at the since-demolished Whitfield Barracks—now Kowloon Park.
A little farther north is the upscale shopping strip of mainly clothing stores called Park Lane Shoppers' Boulevard (5), shaded with what is left of Nathan Road's banyan trees. Cross Nathan Road at the nearby pedestrian crossing and head north one block to Granville Road, lined with inexpensive clothing outlets and fashion-overrun shops, a favorite spot for bargain hunters. Don't expect helpful service, refunds, or the chance to try on the clothes before you buy. Similar stores can be found on Kimberley Road (one block north) and Cameron Road (one block south).
Back on Nathan Road, head north past Kimberley and Observatory Roads to the Antiquities and Monuments Office Resource Center (6) (136 Nathan Rd., tel +852 2721 2326). Built in 1902 as the Kowloon British School, the building is reminiscent of the Victorian Gothic design of British schools of that era. Inside are displays of the work of the office in maintaining and restoring historic buildings. Next door is another example of late-Victorian Gothic architecture, St. Andrews Church (7). It was used as a Shinto shrine during the Japanese occupation. After inspecting the church, backtrack to Observatory Road and the 1883 Hong Kong Observatory (8) (tel +852 2926 8200), on the top of a small hill, which still serves as a weather-monitoring station. This graceful, colonial Victorian building has plastered brick and wide, shady colonnaded verandas along its length on both of its two floors. Group tours can be taken by prior arrangement with the Antiquities and Monuments Office.
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