Parks & Gardens

In Kowloon

Kowloon Park -- Occupying the site of an old military encampment first established in the 1860s, Kowloon Park (tel. 852/2724 3344; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hp) is Tsim Sha Tsui's largest recreational and sports facility, boasting an indoor heated Olympic-size swimming pool, three outdoor leisure pools linked by a series of waterfalls, an open-air sculpture garden featuring works by local and overseas sculptors, a Chinese garden, a fitness trail, an aviary, a maze formed by hedges, two children's playgrounds, and a bird lake with flamingos and other waterfowl. On Sundays from 2:30 to 4:30pm there are free Kung Fu demonstrations at the Kung Fu Corner.

Not far from the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station (take the A1 exit for Kowloon Park), it's easily accessible from Nathan, Haiphong, and Austin roads and is open daily from 6am to midnight, with free admission. The swimming pools (tel. 852/2724 4522) are open daily from 6:30am to 9pm and charge HK$19 (US$2.45/£1.35) for adults and HK$9 (US$1.15/65p) for children.

Kowloon Walled City Park -- Hong Kong's newest park is perhaps its finest. Although it doesn't boast the attractions of the city's other parks, the Kowloon Walled City Park, on Tung Tau Tsuen Road (tel. 852/2716 9962; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/kwcp), was designed to re-create the style of a classical Southern Chinese garden and is the largest such garden outside China. Beautifully landscaped with man-made hills, ponds, streams, pines, boulders, bonsai, bamboo, and shrubs, it features winding paths through a Chinese zodiac sculpture garden, flower gardens, and pavilions.

Even more fascinating is the site's history, described through photographs in a former almshouse. More than 150 years ago, the site was on the seashore, making it perfect in 1847 for the construction of a Chinese fort to defend Kowloon after the British takeover of Hong Kong Island. After 1898, when the British took over the New Territories, the 500 soldiers occupying the fort were expelled. But China did not consider the site part of the leased territories, and for most of the next century, the Kowloon Walled City remained in sovereign limbo, ignored by British authorities. It developed a lifestyle of its own, with its own set of laws. An enclave of tenements and secret societies that flouted Hong Kong's building regulations and health standards, it served as a haven for squatters, refugees, criminals, prostitutes, and drug addicts. Densely packed and infested with rats, many parts of the warrenlike slum never saw the light of day. Hong Kong police ventured inside only in pairs. Following a special Sino-British agreement and years of lengthy negotiations over new housing for Walled City residents, the enclave was demolished in 1994. In addition to the almshouse, a few other historic structures remain, including the Old South Gate entrance, wall foundations, and flagstone paths.

To reach the park, take the MTR to Lok Fu station (exit B) and then walk 15 minutes on Junction Road to Tung Tau Tsuen Road; or take bus no. 1 from the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui to the stop opposite the park. It's open daily from 6:30am to 11pm, and admission is free.

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden -- While in Hong Kong, you may notice wooden bird cages hanging outside shops or from apartment balconies, or perhaps even see someone walking down the street with a cage. Birds are favorite pets in Chinese households, and the price of a bird is determined not by its plumage but by its singing talents. To see more of these prized songbirds, visit the fascinating Yuen Po Street Bird Garden (tel. 852/2302 1762; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/ypsbg), Prince Edward Road West, which consists of a series of Chinese-style moon gates and courtyards lined with stalls selling songbirds, beautifully crafted wood and bamboo cages, live crickets and mealy worms, and tiny porcelain food bowls. Nothing, it seems, is too expensive for these tiny creatures. In addition to people buying and selling birds, there are also visitors just taking their birds for an outing. This garden is very Chinese and a lot of fun to see (Note: Because of concerns about avian flu, signs warning against touching bird droppings are posted at the garden, along with hand sanitizers). Incidentally, next door is Flower Market Road, lined with flower shops, while on nearby Tung Choi Street is the Goldfish Market with exotic fish.

To reach the Bird Garden, open daily from 7am to 8pm, take the MTR to Prince Edward Road station (exit B1) and walk 10 minutes east on Prince Edward Road West, turning left at the railway onto Yuen Po Street. Or take bus no. 1 from the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui. Admission is free.

On Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Park -- Opened in 1991 and stretching 8 hectares (20 acres) along Supreme Court Road and Cotton Tree Drive in Central, Hong Kong Park (tel. 852/2521 5041; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkp) features a dancing fountain at its entrance; one of Southeast Asia's largest greenhouses with more than 2,000 rare plant species, including desert and tropical jungle varieties; an aviary housing 800 exotic birds in a tropical rainforest setting with an elevated walkway; various gardens; a children's playground; and a viewing platform reached by climbing 105 stairs. The most famous building on park grounds is the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware. Since the marriage registry is located on an edge of the park, the gardens are a favorite venue for wedding photographs, especially on weekends and auspicious days of the Chinese calendar.

The park is open daily from 6am to 11pm, the greenhouse and aviary are open daily 9am to 5pm, and the Museum of Tea Ware is open Wednesday through Monday from 10am to 5pm. Admission to all is free. To reach the park, take the MTR to Admiralty Station (exit C1), then follow the signs through Pacific Place and up the set of escalators.

Victoria Park -- The 17-hectare (42-acre) Victoria Park (tel. 852/2882 4151; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/vp) is Hong Kong Island's largest, located on Causeway and Gloucester roads in Causeway Bay and serving as the green lungs of the city. Constructed on reclaimed land formerly used for a typhoon shelter, it has tennis and squash courts, a 50m (164-ft.) swimming pool, soccer fields, basketball courts, playgrounds, a roller skating rink, a jogging and fitness trail, and -- my favorite -- a pebble path for massaging the bottom of your feet. It is also popular in early morning for those practicing tai chi (shadow boxing), a disciplined physical routine of more than 200 individual movements, designed to exercise every muscle of the body and bring a sense of peace and balance to its practitioners. The Mid-Autumn Festival is held here, as well as a flower market a few days before Chinese New Year. The park is open 24 hours and is free. To reach it, take the MTR or tram to Causeway Bay.

Zoological & Botanical Gardens -- Established in 1864, the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Upper Albert Road, Central (tel. 852/2530 0154; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkzbg), are spread on the slope of Victoria Peak, making it a popular respite for Hong Kong residents. Come here early, around 7am, and you'll see Chinese residents going through the slow motions of tai chi. In the gardens themselves, which retain some of their Victorian charm, flowers are almost always in bloom, from azaleas in the spring to wisteria and bauhinia in the summer and fall. More than 1,000 species of plants, most of them indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions and planted throughout the grounds, include Burmese rosewood trees, varieties of bamboo, Indian rubber trees, camphor trees, a variety of camellia, herbs, and the Hong Kong orchid. The small zoo houses 600 birds, 90 mammals, and 20 reptiles, including jaguars, orangutans, tamarins, kangaroos, flamingos, a Burmese python, Palawan peacocks, birds of paradise from Papua New Guinea, cranes, and Mandarin ducks. The zoo is well known for its success in breeding birds on the verge of extinction and for supplying zoos around the world with new stock.

If you're tired of Central and its traffic, this is a pleasant place to regain your perspective. There's also a children's playground. Admission is free. The eastern part of the park, called Fountain Terrace and containing most of the botanical gardens and the aviaries, is open daily from 6am to 10pm, while the western half, with its reptiles and mammals, is open daily from 6am to 7pm. To reach it, take the MTR to Central and then walk 15 minutes up Garden Road to the corner of Upper Albert Road. Or take bus no. 3B or 12 from Queen's Road Central in front of the HSBC bank building in Central.