Hong Kong, China 72-Hour Vacation

Hong Kong City Lights

If there was ever a starting line for the East-West lifestyle, it would surely be found among the islands, banking institutions and awesome harbor that make up Hong Kong. Since the handover from England to China in 1997, the city has evolved from the most Eastern of all British colonies to the most Western of all Chinese entities.

It’s a tension that is playing out beautifully in modern life, where Sino influences run rife and where there are even bistros specializing in Manchurian-inspired cuisine. Streets are a cacophony of old and new, Occident and Orient, with fish flopping on wet market cutting boards within sight of British-accented brokers sipping lattes before corporate meetings. Buying jade, chop-sticking tan tan mien (spicy Szechuan noodles), doing dim sum in a Picasso-filled private club, bargaining for Grade A electronics and outlet shopping for Valentino are easily done in one day here.

Like New York, Hong Kong is a city built on the pursuit of dreams. Large handfuls of the moguls who now occupy the $10 million-plus homes on The Peak are self-made businessmen who first came to Hong Kong after fleeing poverty or working-class life in the province of Canton, a short train ride away. Throughout the centuries, Hong Kong has hosted all kinds of commerce—pirate booty, sandalwood incense, fish and money markets—and it has always been of the entrepreneurial, invent-as-you-go type. This is what makes it such an interesting place to visit. Along with being a window into the culture birthed by the Mainland, it is a land of plenty (for virtually anyone who wants it to be) and flat-out one of the world’s great cities.

Hong Kong has a glut of fine lodging. Your main choice is whether to stay Kowloon-side or on Hong Kong Island. Ideally, split your time and do both. In the former? The Peninsula Hong Kong is 76 years old and every bit as fetching today as it was when it opened, with its marble-clad interiors, pillar-strewn lobby in which to take high tea, rooms fit for Mandarin and Colonial magnates alike and service that rarely errs. Nearby, at a touch less the cost, the InterContinental Hong Kong sits literally atop Victoria Harbour and houses two great restaurants: SPOON by Alain Ducasse and Yan Toh Heen, possibly the top haute Cantonese joint in town.

On Hong Kong Island, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is perfectly positioned near some head-turning skyscrapers and at the heart of the shopping district. It’s a beau monde magnet and also boasts the best concierge and local guidance in town, but the rooms are a bit tired. The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is swish, modern and decadent, clad in wood, black detailing and high-tech gadgetry. It has both Hong Kong and Kowloon views thanks to its location in Wan Chai. For something different, moderate and hands-down the hippest in town, JIA is a slim tower full of serviced apartments designed by Philippe Starck. This property pulls off the trick of being a refuge amidst the truly consumer-mad area of Causeway Bay.

Day 1: Kowloon

Hong Kong is a 24-hour city, no doubt, but it provides the most peace in the morning, when it’s worth witnessing—or partaking in—one of the most nuanced activities around: tai chi. On the Kowloon waterfront just after sunrise, groups of Chinese practice this energy-smoothing form of meditation/exercise. Even for regular visitors, it’s a sight that’s hard to tire of, and the views from the waterfront across Victoria Harbor onto the Hong Kong skyline have a soft and almost Impressionistic quality that only comes out in the pink, gray and tangerine hues of light that flirt together in the early hours.

As Kowloon starts to bustle, it’s time to move on. The twelve square-kilometer-peninsula is filled with Formica-clad noodle shops, glassy malls, rickety wooden housing and posh hotels broken up by the odd verdant public space and temples streaming incense. The Star Ferry Terminal—a landmark as much for its positioning as the fact that it offers what may be the most famous boat ride in the East—is a good starting point. If you look to the right, you can easily see the odd geometrical shapes of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and a gaggle of museums, including the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art. While all are worth a quick peek, we suggest saving your energy and making a special trip to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, which covers everything from landscape formation to Cantonese opera and features probing exhibits on modern food culture and the like.

Across from the museums you can’t miss The Peninsula. Besides a place to sleep and eat, it is a good Kowloon landmark and a logical starting point for your walk down Nathan Road. The street is a bit dirty, helter-skelter with cars, and along the roadsides it is hard to tell where the steam from dim sum shops ends and the smog begins. Cheap electronic shops are done up in gaudy neon, and billboards hang out over the road from nearly every store. This is the area’s central artery. You could take the entire day to shop its outlets and explore its side alleys. While tempting, make sure to take time for the oasis of green that is Kowloon Park, where British soldiers once barracked, and the Jamia Masjid India Mosque, where Chinese Muslims congregate and minarets rise above the surrounding urban chaos. Do as the locals do and stop for lunch in one of the many tiny shops that line the streets—beef noodles are a particular specialty.

Depending on your preference, you can shop or market-and-temple-hop the afternoon away. The Jade Market can be found up Nathan Road on Kansu Street in the Yau Ma Tei area. It is moderate in size, covered and full of stalls selling ornaments, earrings, knick-knacks and even raw jade. Word of warning: don’t purchase too much unless you’re an expert. Hotels often keep lists of which stalls you should purchase from.

Near the market is the Tin Hau Temple where Hong Kong’s beloved local goddess, Tin Hau (Goddess of the Sea) shares space with two other deities, Shing Wong (God of the City) and To Tei (God of the Earth). Another must-see is Reclamation Street where Chinese commerce is on display in all its yelping and cluttered glory: herbalists, snake product stalls, kite shops, funeral parlors and a food market.

After all that activity, it’s time to move on to what may be the best part your trip: high tea at The Peninsula. Reserve ahead if possible or endure a queue of up to 30 minutes amidst a high-ceilinged lobby that pulses with Cantonese power players, Asian jet setters and a splash of Western tourists, not to mention an embarrassing amount of Pu-Erh tea, scones and finger sandwiches on silver trays.

For dinner, book a table at Hutong in the One Peking Road building, which is shaped like an enormous industrial steel-and-glass sail. Owned by Calvin Yeung and Mabel Wong, the first couple of a modern Chinese restaurant movement afoot in Hong Kong, this dramatic space has windows that gaze onto the cityscape over the harbor and rooms filled with antiques from Beijing, Henan and Zhuahai. The food showcases influences from Northern Chinese provinces in dishes such as deep-fried lamb ribs with soy-chile dip and bamboo clams scented with rose water. Stop for pre- or post-dinner drinks at either Aqua Spirit, one floor above Hutong, or Felix in The Peninsula Hong Kong. They are both very glamorous and offer a peek into the city’s legendary high life.

Continue to Day 2

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