Hong Kong: What 50,000 People in 0.026 Square Kilometres Tells You About the Place

Until 1994, Kowloon Walled City was the most densely populated place on Earth. At its peak, roughly 50,000 people lived in an area smaller than a city block, in a structure that had grown organically to 14 stories without planning permission, building codes, or municipal services. The electricity was tapped illegally. The water came from boreholes. Dentists, unlicensed doctors, and noodle factories operated inside a structure so dense that natural light barely reached the ground floors. The city demolished it, turned the site into a park, and preserved the flagstone courtyard of the original Qing Dynasty fort that had stood there since 964 AD.

The Walled City is gone, but the park in Kowloon City where it stood tells you something important about Hong Kong: this is a place where extraordinary things have happened in very small spaces, under unusual conditions, and the results have been preserved in ways that reward attention.

Getting In from the Airport

Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is on Lantau Island, 34 kilometres from Central. The Airport Express is the right choice for most visitors: the train takes 24 minutes to Hong Kong Station in Central and costs HKD 130 one-way (fares increased in June 2025). Return Airport Express tickets are discounted and can be purchased at the destination station. The train is fast, air-conditioned, and includes in-town check-in facilities at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations, meaning you can drop luggage and check in for your departure flight the night before.

Taxis from the airport to Kowloon run around HKD 300-380; to Hong Kong Island around HKD 350-440, depending on route and tolls. Rideshare services are less prevalent in Hong Kong than in comparable cities.

Getting Around

The Octopus card is the most practical piece of equipment for a Hong Kong visit. Load it at any MTR station and use it on the MTR, buses, trams, the Star Ferry, and in many convenience stores and restaurants. A standard card costs HKD 50 (including a HKD 50 deposit). MTR fares on the card range from around HKD 5 for a short hop in Central to HKD 22 for a longer cross-territory journey.

The Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui costs HKD 3.40 on the lower deck. It has been crossing the harbour since 1888 and carries around 24 million passengers per year. The 8-minute crossing is one of the better ways to understand the city’s geography and one of the best-value views anywhere.

The tram system (locally called the “Ding Ding”) runs along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan. A flat fare of HKD 2.60 covers any journey. Taking the tram from Causeway Bay to Central past the historic buildings of Admiralty and the street markets of Wan Chai is a slow but revealing way to read the city.

Victoria Peak

The Peak Tram from Garden Road to the summit is the iconic ascent. The tram has new cars as of 2022 and runs daily from 7am to midnight, departing every 10-15 minutes. Journey time is 6 minutes. Buy tickets online in advance if visiting at weekend or during public holidays; queues at the Garden Road station can extend to 90 minutes on busy days.

The view from the Peak Tower at 428 metres encompasses the full downtown skyline, Kowloon across the harbour, and on clear days the outlying islands. Clear days are more common in autumn and winter. Summer combines heat with haze; the view is more reliable from October through March.

An alternative to the tram is walking up via Lugard Road and Harlech Road, a loop at the summit that takes about 45 minutes and passes through secondary woodland. The trailhead is a 20-minute walk from Central. The walk costs nothing and avoids the queue entirely.

Key Sights

Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin, in the New Territories, contains nearly 13,000 miniature Buddha figures lining the walls and stairs. Reaching it involves climbing 400 steps past life-sized golden statues of disciples. The monastery is free, it is not in most tourist itineraries, and it is substantially more interesting than the Big Buddha on Lantau for visitors who have already seen large religious statues.

Lantau and the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping remains a significant site. The Ngong Ping cable car from Tung Chung provides the standard approach; the alternative is a bus from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping village, which is cheaper and provides similar mountain scenery. The Tian Tan Buddha statue itself is 34 metres high and requires climbing 268 steps. Adjacent Po Lin Monastery offers vegetarian meals.

Temple Street Night Market in Yau Ma Tei runs from early evening until around midnight. The southern end has vendors selling electronics, clothing, and souvenirs; the northern end has fortune tellers and occasional street performers. It is worth walking the full length rather than stopping at the first stall.

Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island is one of the oldest and most atmospheric temples in the city, dedicated to the god of literature and the god of war. It is free, heavily incensed, and operates continuously with genuine worshippers rather than functioning primarily as a tourist site. It is a ten-minute walk from the Western Market MTR station.

Eating

Dim sum originated in Cantonese tea house culture in the Song Dynasty, around the 9th century, and the tradition is still better executed in Hong Kong than almost anywhere else. Tim Ho Wan, with locations in Sham Shui Po and elsewhere, holds Michelin recognition and serves its char siu bao (baked pork buns) for around HKD 30 for four pieces. A full dim sum meal runs HKD 100-250 per person. Arrive before 11am on weekends or expect a wait.

For something less structured, a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style diner) is the most honest way to eat. These are fast, cheap, and serve a distinctive hybrid menu of Cantonese dishes alongside hong kong-style milk tea, egg tarts, and French toast with peanut butter. A full meal costs HKD 60-120. There are dozens along Nathan Road in Kowloon and throughout Wan Chai.

Dai pai dongs, open-air cooked food stalls, are less common than they were but still operate in certain areas including Cooked Food Centre in Sham Shui Po and the markets in Mong Kok. Portions are large and prices are HKD 50-100 for a dish.

Staying

Mid-range hotels in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui typically run HKD 800-1,500 per night. The Peninsula Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui is the city’s most famous hotel, with rooms starting around HKD 4,000; its 1928 lobby and fleet of Rolls-Royces are a specific Hong Kong experience and worth walking through whether or not you are staying.

For budget accommodation, guesthouses in Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui offer small rooms from HKD 250-500. The building is a genuine crossroads of the city’s South Asian and African trading communities and is more interesting sociologically than the neighbourhood hotels nearby.

The Kowloon side (Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei) provides better value for money than Central and offers equally good MTR access. The difference in cost for comparable room quality is usually 20-40%.

Practical Notes

Hong Kong operates in the Cantonese tradition, which means dinner service starts late: restaurants fill between 7pm and 9pm. Lunch is the larger meal in many local restaurants, and the dim sum houses are busiest between 11am and 1pm.

The weather divides sharply between seasons. June through September is hot, humid, and typhoon season. When a typhoon signal 8 or higher is raised, public transport stops and businesses close. Check the Hong Kong Observatory app if visiting in summer. November through February is cooler (15-20 degrees Celsius), less humid, and considerably more comfortable for walking. The air clarity in winter is also better for Peak views.

The Symphony of Lights laser show plays over Victoria Harbour nightly at 8pm. It is best seen from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on the Kowloon side. It is free, runs about 15 minutes, and is more impressive in person than in photographs.