Cheung Chau (長州) is the 8th largest island located 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the 261 islands in Hong Kong. It has the highest population in the Islands District (離島區) which normally refers to outlying islands. Unlike the Lamma Island (南丫島), it has only one ferry pier on the center west of the island. It has a nickname – dumbbell island (啞鈴島) - due to its unique shape with hills at the north and south ends of the island. Most of the shops and houses are located in the center part of island due to the flatland.
We took the ferry from the same ferry pier we took to Lamma Island in Central Ferry Pier. The ferry left at Central Ferry Pier No. 5 and took around one and half hours to reach Cheung Chau Ferry Pier. It was a totally different experience compared to Lamma Island. There are lots of shops and restaurants along the street on the Cheung Chau Wan (長州灣) once we got out of the pier. We just followed the crowd to the nearby streets and started our adventure on the island. We also saw eagles flying overhead especially near the Cheung Chau Sports Ground (長洲運動場) same as when we visited the Lamma Island but not as many of them. Not so far away is the long white sand Tung Wan Beach (東灣泳灘) where we saw few people around maybe because we visited in mid January. We decided on going to the eastern side and hiking the trail to the beautiful coastline. We went through the Kwun Yam Wan Beach (觀音灣泳灘) which is 1/3 the size of the Tung Wan Beach. Here we saw a windsurfing facility that has a sign indicated for 1996 Olympics. We didn’t see any activities in the beginning. A team arrived later, and we had a closer view for their performance. Following the trail, we went through an old Kwun Yam Temple (觀音古廟) and after that reached the so-called Mini Great Wall (小長城) which is a stone trail that lets you view the Kwun Yam Wan Beach, center and north part of the island. The next was the Chi Ma Hang View Point (芝麻坑觀景臺), and then I took the long steps down to the Kwun Yam Wan View Point. Here you can have a different view of northern part of the island and the nearby Loaf Rock (長洲饅頭石). We ended up at the view point of Fa Peng (花坪石).
We arrived at the noon time and spent a little over 4 hours here. Personally I loved Lamma Island more than Cheung Chau because it was less crowded and more natural. You can’t find normal cars here because of the narrow streets. Instead, you will see small motorized trucks, ambulances and police cars. I noticed there are painted Chinese characters on some well-known rock formations. The local authorities should do more to prevent it from happening.
We took the ferry from the same ferry pier we took to Lamma Island in Central Ferry Pier. The ferry left at Central Ferry Pier No. 5 and took around one and half hours to reach Cheung Chau Ferry Pier. It was a totally different experience compared to Lamma Island. There are lots of shops and restaurants along the street on the Cheung Chau Wan (長州灣) once we got out of the pier. We just followed the crowd to the nearby streets and started our adventure on the island. We also saw eagles flying overhead especially near the Cheung Chau Sports Ground (長洲運動場) same as when we visited the Lamma Island but not as many of them. Not so far away is the long white sand Tung Wan Beach (東灣泳灘) where we saw few people around maybe because we visited in mid January. We decided on going to the eastern side and hiking the trail to the beautiful coastline. We went through the Kwun Yam Wan Beach (觀音灣泳灘) which is 1/3 the size of the Tung Wan Beach. Here we saw a windsurfing facility that has a sign indicated for 1996 Olympics. We didn’t see any activities in the beginning. A team arrived later, and we had a closer view for their performance. Following the trail, we went through an old Kwun Yam Temple (觀音古廟) and after that reached the so-called Mini Great Wall (小長城) which is a stone trail that lets you view the Kwun Yam Wan Beach, center and north part of the island. The next was the Chi Ma Hang View Point (芝麻坑觀景臺), and then I took the long steps down to the Kwun Yam Wan View Point. Here you can have a different view of northern part of the island and the nearby Loaf Rock (長洲饅頭石). We ended up at the view point of Fa Peng (花坪石).
We arrived at the noon time and spent a little over 4 hours here. Personally I loved Lamma Island more than Cheung Chau because it was less crowded and more natural. You can’t find normal cars here because of the narrow streets. Instead, you will see small motorized trucks, ambulances and police cars. I noticed there are painted Chinese characters on some well-known rock formations. The local authorities should do more to prevent it from happening.
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James Huang - All rights reserved.
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