10:15am-1:00pm (approx.)
Half-day walking tour
Planned, described and conducted
by Hong Kong writer, historian and long-term resident,
Dr Gillian Bickley.
Usually assembles in the forecourt of The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Island and begins with a briefing.
Ends at the (Protestant) Hong Kong Cemetery, Happy Valley.
Groups up to 3: HK$1,200 per group (includes cost of shared taxi to Happy Valley).
For each additional person (up to a maximum of 20), add HK$200.00 to the group fee.
Special arrangements may be available by request.
The tour begins with a briefing of approximately 15 minutes. Usually, participants will then go up the mid-levels escalator to Hollywood Road (which switches to an upwards direction daily at 10.30am). If, unusually, it happens that the escalator is not working, we will walk up to Hollywood Road, probably via the Gough Street steps. We will visit the Man Mo Temple with its incense coils and images and maybe take the chance to sound its gong or beat the drum.
We will see the second site of the first government school in Hong Kong (attended by Sun Yat Sen, Founder of the Chinese Republic) and admire the old banyan trees, which entwine their roots in the perimeter wall. (In the old days there were twelve banyan trees, which students used to call, "The twelve apostles".) Nearby is also the site of the Baptist missionary school founded by the first western woman to live in Hong Kong, Henrietta Shuck. We will notice the current gentrification of the area that is taking place.
We will walk along Wellington Street with its small curiosity and antique shops and then along Wyndham Street to Ice House Street, passing Point No. 9 of the Sun Yat Sen Trail and the former Central Police Station Compound and Victoria Prison.
We will see the former Ice House (in the days before refrigeration, ice was brought to Hong Kong by ship). From the steps near the prestigious Foreign Correspondents' Club, you have the opportunity to take good photographs of the exterior of Bishop's House. Originally, it was St Paul's Missionary College, aiming to train Chinese missionaries for the conversion of Mainland China. It is now the home and headquarters of the first Archbishop of Hong Kong. Two of the ten commandments, carved in Chinese, are set in the wall of the compound.
We walk a couple of hundred yards along Lower Albert Road to St John's Anglican (Episcopal) Cathedral, passing Bishop's House, the back garden of former Government House, the Central Government Buildings and the American Consulate. If we are lucky and the security guards allow it, we can cut through the car-park of the Central Government Buildings, and see the replica canon in the grounds. We will pass the former French Mission Building (now the Court of Final Appeal) and (if no service is taking place at the time) briefly enter St John's Anglican (Episcopal) Cathedral. We will exit by the Garden Road gates and take a look at the foundation stone laid by the Duke of Edinburgh (Queen Victoria's son). We will walk up to the taxi rank at the St John's Building and, before getting into a taxi, we will notice the Helena May Institute (a ladies' club established by Helena, wife of Governor Sir F. H. May).
We will share taxi(s) to drive down Garden Road, glimpsing on the right the Museum of Tea-ware in the former Headquarter House in Hong Kong Park, and then along Queen's Road East, passing first a small temple and also a very early 20th century Post Office. We will then visit the former Colonial Cemetery (now known as The Protestant Cemetery) in Happy Valley. Missionaries, soldiers, sailors and businessmen are among those buried here and all nationalities: - westerners, Chinese, Eurasians. We will not miss the Old Residents' Cemetery, restricted to those who lived in Hong Kong for at least twenty years. The tour ends at the Protestant Cemetery. Taxis can be obtained outside the entrance. Trams and buses are close. A subway leads to the MTR. (Before leaving, you may like to note other Cemeteries nearby: the Catholic, Parsee and Moslem Cemeteries, and the Jewish Cemetery a little further away.)
Those who wish, after the tour, can cross the road together from the Protestant Cemetery, to share a dim sum lunch at the comfortable HKJC Moon Koon restaurant next to the HKJC Museum. The cost of the lunch is not included in the tour and will be shared among those who join the lunch party. To enable us to confirm a table of an appropriate size, please let us know, when you book, if you wish to join the lunch party.
Please wear walking shoes and bring some cash or small notes. (If your group is more than 3, we will need more than one taxi to Happy Valley. (Proverse will reimburse the fare.) Mosquito protection may be needed for the Cemetery visit. Sun protection, an umbrella and a bottle of water are useful in case of need. Please walk carefully. Some of the pavements and paths are stepped, uneven and narrow. The tour leader disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries.
BAD WEATHER POLICY: The walk will be cancelled if a No. 3 or higher tropical cyclone or amber or black storm warning is raised within 3 hours before the start of the walk. Please supply your postal name and address. If cancellation takes place because of bad weather, we will send you a copy of Gillian Bickley's, "The Golden Needle: the Biography of Frederick Stewart (1836-1889)", in lieu of reimbursement. (Frederick Stewart is known as "The Founder of Hong Kong Education".)
NO SHOWS: We regret that no-shows are not reimbursed and no book will be sent. However, substitutions are welcome. Please let us know about any substitutions or inability to attend, as soon in advance as possible. If you have not arrived by 15 minutes after the scheduled start, we will assume you are a, "no-show".
Gillian Bickley is the author of non-fiction and poetry:
and of two children's books:
She is the editor of:
Publications available through Proverse Hong Kong.