Hong Kong
Seven million people occupy a quarter of the territory because the rest is too steep to build on, and the result is the world's most vertical city with a country park twenty minutes from the trading floor. Take the Star Ferry across at dusk for eight minutes and a dollar, then climb: dragon's Back or Victoria Peak, where the towers become a diagram of the land beneath them.
Why go
Vertical density — seven million people on a quarter of the land, because the rest is too steep. Country parks at the tram stop — forty per cent of the territory is protected, ten minutes from the skyline. The Star Ferry — eight minutes across the harbour for the price of nothing, since 1888. Cantonese food at every level — from a two-dollar bowl of noodles to the densest cluster of stars in Asia.
The character
Hong Kong is a mountainous archipelago, and that single fact explains its shape. Only about a quarter of the land is built on because the rest is too steep or protected as country park, so the population went upward instead — the result is the most vertical city on earth, with more skyscrapers than anywhere and residential towers on ridges above forest.
The other half of the character is the border. Ceded to Britain in 1842 after the First Opium War, returned to China in 1997, and governed since under a formula that has been tested severely in the last decade, Hong Kong has always been a place of arrivals and departures — refugees from the mainland in 1949 and 1962, traders, financiers, and a service culture built on hurry. What remains constant is the physical experience: the harbour crossing at dusk, the escalator through Central, the wet markets under the towers, and the fact that a two-hour hike gets you to an empty beach with the skyline behind the hill.
Places of character
Star Ferry at dusk — the crossing every visitor makes and every resident still uses. Dragon's Back — a ridge trail an hour from Central, ending at a beach at Big Wave Bay. Tai Kwun — the former Central Police Station, restored by Herzog & de Meuron as an arts complex. Temple Street night market and the dai pai dong — street food and open-air kitchens, fewer each year. Man Mo Temple — 1847, dense with hanging incense coils, on Hollywood Road between the antique shops. Cheung Chau or Lamma — outlying islands, half an hour by ferry, with no cars and seafood on the quay.
The way to do it
Use the ferries and the trams rather than taxis; both are absurdly cheap and show the city. Hike once — Dragon's Back or the Peak circle trail — because the relationship between forest and tower is the whole subject. Eat at a cha chaan teng for breakfast and a dai pai dong for dinner. And cross the harbour at least twice, in both directions.
One perfect day
Cha chaan teng breakfast — milk tea, macaroni soup, egg tarts — then the tram east along Hong Kong Island for an hour of street-level city at walking pace. Mid-morning up to Dragon's Back and along the ridge to Big Wave Bay for a swim. Bus back, then dim sum in a loud room in Sheung Wan. Afternoon at Tai Kwun and the antique shops on Hollywood Road, with Man Mo in between. Star Ferry across at dusk for the skyline switching on. Noodles in Jordan, night market, and the ferry back with the towers lit behind you.
Grand hotels
The Peninsula — 1928, on the Kowloon waterfront, with a fleet of green Rolls-Royces and afternoon tea in the lobby. Mandarin Oriental — 1963 in Central, the businessman's hotel that defined Asian luxury service.
When to go
Best expression: October to December — dry, clear, warm days and the best visibility of the year. Consider: Chinese New Year for the spectacle, though much closes for three days. Avoid if possible: June to September, hot, humid and in typhoon season.
The frame
Ideal stay 4 nights · Minimum 3 nights · Best arrival by air, then the Airport Express in 24 minutes · Airport HKG, 35 km · Walkability excellent, with escalators, ferries and trams · Best without a car essential