Sai Kung Pier
The pier is formerly used for the ships that fishermen come back from fishing. It gradually became a place where the residents trade for daily goods since the fishing business is not necessary nowadays. The name of it can be date back to the Ming period, the emperors sent seven maritime expeditions probing down into the South Seas, and the Western countries will contribute some precious product. In Chinese, this activity is called "西方來貢", so the pier is named “西貢".
Tin Hau Temple and Hip Tin Temple at Sai Kung
This site is located at Po Tung Road which is the center of Sai Kung Market. The Temples were built in the 1910s-1920s and those are probably the most historical temples in Hong Kong. These two temples have the traditional architectural style of the Qing dynasty, they are decorated by many Chinese cultural elements such as a pair of couplets, flowers, birds, calligraphy, and landscape. The Tin Hau Temple is dedicated to worshiping Tin Hau, who is the goddess of the sea. There is a celebration event on the day of Tin Hau’s birthday, which is March 23 of the lunar calendar, and thousands of believers or the locals will visit the temple for worship and admiration. The Hip Tin Temple is also known as Kwan Tai Temple as it was built for the worship of Kwan Tai, which is regarded as the god of war in China. In 1916, this temple was moved from the former sites to the side of Tin Hau Temple. These two temples are not only the religious center of Saikung but also the education, economy, and administration center in the past few years. It is because a primary school was set up at the north chamber of the temple and there were many local organizations that would hold the meeting at the temple, such as the Sai Kung Chamber of Commerce and The Sai Kung Kai Fong Committee. Therefore, these two temples inherit the history and culture of SaiKung.
Seafood Street
Along the waterfront promenade, fishermen moor their boats and sell their catches. This area is called Seafood Street. Fishermen, there have lived in Sai Kung since the 14th century. Initially, they lived in the vessels which were near the promenade. They then moved to the villages on the shore. Seafood Street is located at the waterfront promenade near Sai Kung Public Pier. To get there, you have to walk along the promenade when you arrive at the Sai Kung Public Pier. It takes around 5 minutes to get there. Seafood street is one of the busiest areas in Sai Kung. There are hundreds of tourists flocked to Seafood Street during the peak season. It is well-known for selling fresh seafood, such as fresh fish, shellfish, and other kinds of seafood. The transaction between the buyers and sellers is a very interesting thing to watch. First, buyers usually bargain with the dealers. Once the price is agreed, buyers put their cash into a small pocket lifted up from the boat. Then, the dealer will immediately prepare the order and deliver it to the buyer using the small pocket. Another special feature about Seafood Street is that there are some famous seafood restaurants nearby and the chefs are willing to cook for you if you want to enjoy your seafood right after you purchase it from the market. For example, it charges HK$120 to cook a fish for you. We highly recommend this place to you as you can enjoy fresh seafood there. So, when you visit Sai Kung next time, don’t forget to visit Seafood Street!
Sharp Island
Sharp Island takes only a fifteen-minute boat ride from Sai Kung Public Pier. As part of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, it has fascinating natural scenery and unique geological relics, which was created 140 million years ago. It is perfect for visitors to enjoy natural wonders with a short hike.There are three main attractions in Sharp Island that are highly recommended to visitors. The first spot after arriving at Sharp Island is Half Moon Bay.Then, continue the visit to Kiu Tsui Beach, Tombolo will come into sight if we catch the low tide. We can witness the natural wonder of “Moses parts the sea”. The natural sandbank connects the nearby islands in the middle of the sea. Visitors can stroll along and appreciate this interesting coastal landform.The last stop of this journey is to search for “pineapple bun rocks”. As Sharp Island is also a volcano geopark, typical volcanic rocks found on the Island witnessed the volcanic eruption 140 million years ago. While “pineapple bun rocks” are the rocks that have been weathered and eroded with irregular cracks, which looks like the local snack ‘pineapple bun’.After a 2 hours hike, visitors can take a ferry at Sharp Island Public Pier, to return to Sai Kung Public Pier.
Half Moon Bay
A little history of half moon bay is that the name of it is a little bit tricky. Back in the British colonial time, Cantonese people called this bay “Hup Mun Bay “ which means “廈門灣”. However, the English people didn’t understand Cantonese and misinterpret it as “Half Moon Bay”, and that is how the name came from. Another saying is that it is because how the bay look is like a half-moon, so named it as “half moon bay”. You can take a boat from Sai Kung Pier to this bay in around 20 minutes with 20 HKD or 30 HKD during the peak season. Another way to get there is to take a boat from Sai Kung Pier to Kiu Tsui Bay and hike through the Kiu Tsui Country Park, but it might take a longer time to get there. Besides, the Half Moon Bay has been recognized as the top clean beach in Hong Kong and has remained for years. We recommend you to go there and enjoy your afternoon with drinks and sunset.
Man Lin Street
Man Lin street is one of the main streets in Sai Kung pier linking to other places. Along the road of Man Lin street, the first thing that catches your eyes must be the different enormous graffiti hanging on the wall across the street. These graffiti are giving a new feeling to a relatively old street. The mix-and-matching style of art with the traditional shop across the street takes you traveling among different dimensions from old vintage hong kong to a new artsy-styled hong kong. Talking about the traditional shop, along the street, there are many shops from the 50’s 60’s traditional hong kong style houseware shop to the 60’s 70’s hong kong style western cuisine restaurant. These shops represent the different eras of hong kong with different aspects from food to shopping items. Man Lin street is a street that takes you back to the local traditional side of the hong kong lifestyle.
