| World / China / Hongkong / Hong Kong, 3 km from center | Coordinates: 22°17'37"N 114°10'10"E |
The old Clock Tower near the Star Ferry concourse at Tsim Sha Tsui is a landmark of the bygone era of the Age of Steam, when trains arrived here with passengers who weeks before had embarked from London on the world's longest railway journey.
Their only relief from the clackety clack of iron wheels on the rails came shortly after departure, with the crossing of the English Channel by boat-train. From then on it was an experience of mind-numbing monotony as, with occasional changes of train and rail gauge, they headed east across Europe from Paris to Moscow.
Then came the transfer to the Trans-Siberian Railway and the vast and seemingly endlessly steppes of Mother Russia, the brief relief of arrival in Peiping, as the Imperial Chinese capital was then known, and at last the final leg southward through the verdant countryside of China to Hong Kong, and the joy of once more walking on terra firma as they left the station and checked their fob watches by the clocks on all four sides of the Tower.
With its distinctive design in red brick and granite, the 45-metre Tower is a graceful reminder of those Colonial times. But over many years it had far greater significance for tens of millions of Chinese for whom the former terminus was the final stop on their rail journeys from villages in their homeland to new lives either in Hong Kong or by ship to distant destinations overseas. Now the site of the historic railway station is occupied by the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, its curving roof and futuristic features creating an unusual background to its solitary neighbour.
The Clock Tower is an ideal starting place for a Heritage Walk in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Cultural Centre is highly interesting both out- and inside. Look for the unusual golden statue of a winged figure on the side facing the Star Ferry, an avant-garde gift from France.
Cross Salisbury Road and head away from the harbour. You will pass the YMCA (cheap cafeteria-style meals) and its far more opulent neighbour, the Peninsula Hotel. In the past both of these premises provided a welcome temporary home, and specially a glorious bath and change of clothes, for many of the Europeans who had just arrived by train at the nearby terminus.
Turn left at Nathan Road and head up the beginning of the "Golden Mile" (of tourist shops), pass over Middle Road and Peking Road to Haiphong Road, where on the opposite side stands the traditionally Muslim-style four-storey Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre. Continue past the Mosque and up the steps into the many delights of restful Kowloon Park, a magnificent green lung in the heart of a throbbing tourist district. The park is criss-crossed by walks that take you past a Chinese Garden, Roof Gardens, a bird lake, an aviary, a maze and a loggia. Then, provided the weather's hot, you can enjoy the sight of the clear blue waters of the superb public swimming pool complex. Not to worry if it's winter; four heated indoor pools are in use then. Yes, visitors are welcome, but check the opening hours.
Retrace your steps to Nathan Road, cross to the other side and look for an imposing red brick building rather like an elongated church. It is the former British School in Kowloon, the oldest surviving school for Europeans in Hong Kong, and fittingly now houses the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Heritage Resource Centre. Close by is another Colonial relic that is indeed a church, St Andrew's by name, with its single bell tower in front. Founded in 1906, it was built on typical Gothic lines but during the Japanese Occupation (1942-45) was converted to a Shinto shrine, and the vicarage used by the chief of the Kempetei (Secret Police) as his residence.
Farther behind the old school and St Andrew's is the Hong Kong Observatory, a colonnaded white Colonial building erected in 1884 and declared a monument exactly 100 years later.
Category: interesting hong kong clock tst
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