In concrete mall-lined Hong Kong, it's time to head for the hills...

Kai Kung Leng in Yuen Long transforms into the Scottish moors in winter. Hong Kong's outdoors are a less known part of the visitor lexicon but must be both upgraded and included in travel itineraries/ Photo: Vijay Verghese

THE BORDERLANDS, beautiful and wild, stretching across the rugged New Territories encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. They are a green and untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on piracy and plunder, the New Territories form a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, villages, wetlands, organic farms and casual dai pai dong streetside cafes.

First settled in about the 12th century by the early Tangs — whose ancestral halls and walled  cities are still scattered across the north — the area is not commonly accessed by visitors. This is a shame as much can be gleaned about the city’s history and character from a reading of this area.

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MTR trains, buses, and ferries operate a great many routes offering speedy penetration into places like Tai Po, Fanling, Kam Tin, Ping Shan and, with a bit more effort, Tai O in Lantau and the outlying islands. It here that tourism should be dispersed to move away from the monoculture shopping of Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay that has dulled the excitement of many a tourist seeking something different.

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Much here is very different, starting with the nature trails that are roughhewn, if well marked, unlike the non-threatening bliss of perfectly manicured Singapore. And the enclave offers four distinct seasons in which to appreciate the landscape, the flora, and the wintering birds, followed by legions of photographers from the Mai Po Marshes and Nam Sang Wai to Starling Inlet near Sha Tau Kok.

{“Hong Kong's nature trails are original and roughhewn, if well marked, unlike the non-threatening bliss of perfectly manicured Singapore...”

Several of the city’s creative communities have sought shelter here from rising rents, their work in evidence at assorted flea markets and more organised setups like Kam Tin’s wonderful Red Brick House Market (Kam Sheung Road MTR Station), perfectly accompanied by the cheerful family-run Sum Ngai Brass Factory with its lamps, tea sets, statues and cloisonné work. These areas can be linked on circuits to include places like PMQ, Tai Kwun and other creative ventures mixing local shopping and creative flair with food and oddities, night markets, flower streets, and even museums.

Hong Kong’s milk tea has a great many fans. A walks-tea-and-eats circuit could include places as far afield as Waso’s in Tin Shui Wai (and its other outlets), Australian Dairy Co off Jordan Road, Bing Kee in Tin Hau, My Cup of Tea in Wanchai and the original Lan Fong Yuen in Central. These are simple characterful spots that speak volumes about the city and its people. With tourism spend moving downwards and luxury shopping paling (despite having gobbled up the best retail spaces in town), these sorts of options provide much opportunity for smart marketing and earnings that actually trickle down into the community.

Hong Kong’s nature must be vigorously preserved but there is certainly room for a managed influx of visitors (not just on weekends) to beaches and on nature trails. With a little effort to secure genuine food operators with inventive menus rather than highest-bid commercial operators whose interest is in turnover not quality, these can form new arteries of commerce to enliven dying villages and green belts.

It goes without saying that nature needs to be left alone. Turned into a bureaucratic town improvement exercise it shall not remain ‘nature’ for very long. Witness children’s parks that have gone from grass to garishly coloured concrete and waterfront promenades that have been similarly concreted up into featureless strips devoid of shade, grass and trees. These areas need thoughtful landscaping and integration into town planning.

That said, several nature trails have fallen into serious neglect over the past few years and are in need of repair and bush clearance to make them visible and usable. Some country parks (or vast sections therein)  are still cordoned off years after typhoon damage. They need to be reopened, the parks and trails brought back to life as during the pandemic years when residents reclaimed the outdoors with great pride and zeal.

Of course, administrators prefer rubber and fake greens to real grass and trees, the former being easier to manage. Yet, genuine greens bring something special to the landscape. Take Central Park in New York, Hampstead Heath in London, Lumpini Park in Bangkok, MacRitchie Reservoir in Singapore, and other unique city lungs.

These days, more than ever, travellers are seeking to reconnect with the natural essence of a place. It is time to give people a chance to feel grass underfoot, to hear buskers at street corners, to pedal down seafront cycling trails, and to enjoy the spice and ingenuity of food vans (in accessible places rather than marooned in remote concrete). This is how to make a city a living, breathing being that pulls in not just tourists but engages city dwellers. It just takes imagination and costs far less than building mega wonders that will soon be overtaken by other bigger and brasher constructs.

The truest barometer of any product is usage. Let’s enjoy this beautiful city.

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