From Stanley it is well worth taking a walk northwards to the Tai Tam reservoir.
On the east coast of Hong Kong Island there are beaches at Big Wave Bay (surfing also possible) and further south at Shek 0.
The wide reaches of Victoria Harbour to the north of Hong Kong Island are crossed by a railway tunnel (MTR) and a road tunnel (Cross Harbour Tunnel; there is a second one further east). On the far side lies the Kowloon peninsula, the second urban area of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong.
The southern end of the peninsula is occupied by the district of Tsim Sha Tsui. At the south-western end is the large overseas passenger ship terminal, known as the Ocean Terminal, which has a shopping centre, and the Star Ferry Pier, which is the dock for harbour ferries to and from Hong Kong Island. The Clock Tower is a relic of a railway station which was formerly situated here.
The quayside area to the east has been widened with embankments and turned into a “cultural centre”. This complex includes a concert hall, theatre and two extremely interesting museums, the Museum of Art and the Space Museum, the latter boasting a Zeiss planetarium (housed in a hemispheric building) and a section devoted to solar science.
Further west in the area around Salisbury Road leading up to the Hung Horn Railway Terminus, Hong Kong’s main railway station, various new hotels and shopping complexes have sprung up (“East Tsim Sha Tsui”).
From the northern dock area of Victoria Harbour, Nathan Road runs for about 4km/21/2 miles in a dead straight line northwards as far as Boundary Road, the northernmost limit ofthe city area of Kowloon. This busy major traffic artery, which has the MTR underground line running beneath it, is often referred to as the “Golden Mile”. Both sides of it are lined with hotels, restaurants, department stores, cinemas, shops and night clubs. Indeed it can almost be said that there is a surfeit of goods and entertainments on offer.
Along the west side of Nathan Road, about 500m/1/4 mile north of the harbour, is the extensive Kowloon Park, in which are to be found an Islamic centre (with mosque) and the Museum of History (entrance on Haiphong Road) with exhibits concerned with the local history.
