Outlying Islands
Cheung Chau, 'Old China' Isle
Cheung Chau Isle is much smaller than Lantau and is urbanized in a rather charming 'Old China' way with Chinese junks and sampans crowding Cheung Chau's little harbour. This dumbbell shaped island with hills at either end and a village nestled in a connecting rod of land, is narrow enough that you can walk from Cheung Chau harbour on its west side to Tung Wan Harbour on the east in just a few minutes.
Lovely Lamma 'Stone Age Isle'
This is the third largest of the outlying islands and somehow less well-known both to visitors and to local people. It's nicknames is "Stone Age Island" because of its archaeological association with some of the earliest settlements in Hong Kong and perhaps also because it is reasonably free of high-rise buildings, cars and factories.
Misty Lantau 'Broken Head'
This is the largest of the Outlying Islands, and home to Disneyland.
Lantau has a land area twice that of Hong Kong Island. It's called 'Broken Head' because it's dominated by the Lantau Peak that rises 935 metres high at the heart of the lizard shaped Lantau. The island is cob-webbed with wandering pathways and dusty trails which spiral up, down and around the scenic mountains.
Some attractions in Lantau are:
Po Lin Monastery. This monastery is set on a steep hill due north of the Shek Pik Reservoir and is the home to the world's largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha..
Ying Hing Monastery, a haven rich with traditional Buddhist paintings and status. This monastery sits on a slope and commands a fine view of the surrounding mountains, farming country and the blue South China Sea.
Trappist Haven of Our Lady of Liese, located at Tai Shui Hang is looked after by a closed Christian order sworn to silence. The Trappist monks are protective of their privacy, so do not welcome casual visitors to their inner sanctums.
Lantau Mountain Camp is about 769 metres elevation of Sunset Peak. This camp consists of 20 small stone houses which were built before World War II as a rest haven for the colony's Christian and Christian missionaries on leave from China.
Silver Mine Bay Beach is the most popular and crowded beach.
Tong Fuk Provision Store, this out-of-the-way store not only stocks ample provisions of cold wine and beer, but is also a restaurant serving both Chinese and Western food.
Some of the more distant outlying islands have even more exclusive charms but these islands are more or less deserted.
Ping Chau or 'Ghost Island' used to have about 3,000 people but now only two men live there full time. Other islanders return at weekend and public holidays.
Tap Mun, this island is worth visiting as it is an important base for the Hong Kong fishing folk. It has in common with most outlying islands, a Tin Hua Temple dedicated to the goddess of the sea.
Kat O Chau or 'Crooked Island', a richly green island thick with butterflies, wild flowers and a summer chorus of frogs and cicadas. Kat O is larger than Tap Mun but it's a rather sleepy island with an atmosphere reminiscent of ancient China. The population there is about 2,000 Hoklo fishermen.
Ap Chau is another fishing island with one unusual feature about it. The 500 fishermen and their families are all members of the True Jesus Church, headquarters in Taiwan.
Po Toi is a tiny Island inhabited by some 200 people. It has a haunted house and some curious rock carvings which might possibly be the epitaph of an emperor who is rumored to have died on or near Po Toi.
Ma Wan is smaller than Po Toi and is notable because it was once the site of a Ching dynasty custom station.
Tung Lungs is a small, sparsely populated island lying off the southern tip of the Clearwater Bay Peninsula, to the east of Hong Kong Island. Its main features of interest to visitors are a renovated fort, and huge cliffs.
Sek kwu Chau, a small island near Cheung Chau is not open to casual visitors as it is now given over to SARDA, a private body which runs the heroin rehabilitation centre there.
