十六 | Cheung Chau Island

November 5th, 2016

Hong Kong is such a unique place. One day you can be in the bustling city streets, another day up in the mountains going for a hike, or chilling out at one of the many beaches. This Saturday I took a trip to one of the outlying islands of Hong Kong named Cheung Chau. It takes about 40 mins to an hour to get there depending on which ferry you decide to take. There’s the standard ferry that is cheaper but slower, and the fast ferry that is like you guessed faster and a little more expensive. Which one did I take? The fast ferry of course haha. The very little increase in price (I don’t remember exactly) is definitely worth paying if I can get an extra 40 minutes of time.

Cheung Chau is an interesting little place. It’s not much of a vacation island as you might have thought, it’s predominantly residential. Tons of like actually people live there. There’s even a school on the island4, I noticed it because in the schoolyard was a huge full basketball court with kids playing. There’s one main road that you step out to when arriving off the ferry, and then there’s an uneven array of narrow streets where people live. No cars are found on this island, with the exception of a few small size vehicles for police, ambulance and firefighters. Biking is the main mode of transportation, and then of course boats. There’s bikers everywhere on the island, you may get bumped or ran over during your visit to the island. You can also rent bikes from different rental locations all over Cheung Chau. You’ll also notice upon arrival is that there are many fishing boats docked at the harbor, bringing no surprise that Cheung Chau is very big on Seafood. All down the main road you can find tons of seafood restaurants. There are beaches on pretty much all sides of the island. For more of an adventure you can bike down to one end of the Island where you’ll find the Cheung Po Tsai Cave, along with some stunning views.