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Fascinating sights to explore in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a city that is constantly reinventing itself, always balancing the old with the new. Your first sight of this city will stick in your memory forever.

The first place on every visitor's "Must-Do" list is Victoria Peak, where you can grasp the diversity and scale of the city. In eight minutes you'll be up in the clouds, thanks to the Peak Tram, which says a lot about the city -- a historic form of transport to view a panorama of modern skyscrapers and mountains.

Step on to any street and you'll be swept away in a wave of commotion, smells and sounds. For a taste of what it's like to live here, ride the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator, which snakes its way through some of the city's most expensive real estate. An incredible 800 meters long, it's the world's longest covered outdoor escalator and moves tens of thousands of people a day. It has created its own "escalator culture" for trendy bars, cafes and restaurants along its route.

For another "moving" experience, ride the upper deck of the bus from Central to Stanley on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Through sharp twists and turns, ascents and descents, this exhilarating ride boasts non-stop magnificent views. Get a seat at the front for the ultimate experience.

Central -- Home to the business and financial world, where charming colonial buildings stand proudly alongside futuristic monoliths. It's also a magnet because of the legendary Star Ferry, providing a memorable and scenic boat ride across one of the most photographed harbors in the world. Central is also a shopper's paradise. Lan Kwai Fong, the famous nightspot, is here, along with another fashionable evening dining area, SoHo (south of Hollywood Road).

Wan Chai -- Famous as the home of the fictional Suzie Wong, as portrayed in the 1957 movie The World of Suzie Wong, today's Wan Chai is more notable for its dizzying array of small shops -- from wet markets to metal craftsmen and quaint printers selling traditional red Chinese wedding invitations. At its core is the nightlife scene, with many new trendy bars and restaurants complementing the older "traditional" establishments. The district also boasts the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, where the ceremony for the handover took place in 1997. Perched in the harbor.

There's also Hong Kong's tallest building, the 374-meter (1,230 feet), 78-storey Central Plaza, where rooftop neon lights change color each quarter hour after 6pm to signal the time of day. A ride to its Sky Lobby on the 46F helps you put Hong Kong Island and Kowloon in perspective.

Causeway Bay and Happy Valley -- Extremely popular for shopping and entertainment. The area also boasts one of the greatest horseracing venues in the world at the magnificent Happy Valley track, where the first meeting was held in 1846.

Causeway Bay's Japanese department stores are among the biggest in town. There are also many local teahouses offering unique Hong Kong-style tea and snacks.

South Side -- Step away from the hustle and bustle into a slower pace of life. Aberdeen Harbor may be ringed with high-rise housing estates, but fishermen still live on high-sterned varnished-wood junks. At night, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, moored in Aberdeen Harbor, becomes the focus. It's the largest floating restaurant in the world and quite possibly the brightest.

Nearby is Ocean Park, an amusement park perched around two mounntain peaks. It boasts a rang of hair-raising rides, a scenic cable car ride, one of the world's largest reef aquariums, seals and sea lions, and its two most popular guests - giant pandas An An and Jia Jia. An unrivalled experience combining entertainment, education and conservation. In the evening there is a Chinese cultural show at the Empress Theatre.

Tsim Sha Tsui -- Welcome to Hong Kong's tourist mecca. Enter the "Golden Mile," a long boulevard of shops and tourist hotels running from the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula down Nathan Road. It's Hong Kong's answer to Fifth Avenue and the Champs Elysee, and is an unforgettable shopping experience. Drop into Kowloon Park and meander along the Sculpture Walk featuring local and international exhibits. Take time to admire the graceful old Clock Tower alongside the Star Ferry concourse. It was part of the Kowloon-Canton railway station that was moved to nearby Hung Hom in 1975.

Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok - Gain an insight into traditional Chinese urban life. Yau Ma Tei (meaning "place of sesame plants" because it was once farmland) is a maze of narrow, fascinating streets.

Mong Kok is reputedly the most densely populated urban area in the world. These neighborhoods are bustling with markets specializing in everything from flowers and goldfish to jade and songbirds.

Sprawling between Kowloon Peninsula and mainland China, the 796 square kilometers (306 square miles) of the New Territories are a rich tapestry of scenic contrasts - hilly, rolling woodlands and buzzing "new towns"; duck farms and wildlife reserves; sandy bays and ornate temples; bustling markets and isolated hamlets.

Hong Kong has more than 260 Outlying Islands and although only a few are inhabited they offer an endless cornucopia of experiences for the adventurous visitor seeking tranquility and a glimpse of what Hong Kong life was like in years past.
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