The Central District

Start: Star Ferry terminus, Central District.

Finish: Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Central.

Time: About 3 hours; add 1 to 2 hours if you include Victoria Peak.

Best Times: Weekdays, when shops and restaurants are in full swing.

Worst Times: Tuesday, when the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware is closed; Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and public holidays, when some stores and restaurants in the Central District are closed.

The birthplace of modern Hong Kong, the Central District used to be called "Victoria," after Queen Victoria; it boasted elegant colonial-style buildings with sweeping verandas and narrow streets filled with pigtailed men pulling rickshaws. That's hard to imagine nowadays. With Central's gleaming glass-and-steel skyscrapers, there's little left of its colonial beginnings. Still, this is the logical starting place for a tour of Hong Kong. The handful of historic buildings scattered among towering monoliths symbolize both the past and the future of this ever-changing city. Yet, surprisingly, Central has several city parks, good for relaxation and sightseeing. If you have time, you can also take a trip to Victoria Peak from the tram terminus in Central.

If you're starting this tour from Tsim Sha Tsui, board the Star Ferry for an exhilarating ride across the world-famous harbor. You'll disembark in the heart of Central. Ahead of you--just outside the terminus--are all that remain of Hong Kong's once mighty fleet of:

1. Rickshaw Drivers--First appearing in Japan (the name is derived from the Japanese jinriksha, which translates as "people-powered vehicle") and brought to Hong Kong in the 1870s, rickshaw drivers are now tourist attractions rather than providers of transportation. In all my days in Hong Kong, I've never once seen a driver plying the streets of Central, and since no new licenses are being issued, the tradition will soon end when the last of the remaining ancient-looking men give up their trade. Most tourists prefer to have their photos taken sitting in a rickshaw rather than riding in one, but even that is likely to cost HK$50 (US$6.50). The drivers will also demand money if you take a picture of them. Negotiate the price beforehand.

To your right, just outside the ferry wickets, is the General Post Office. Continue walking inland from the Star Ferry terminus (with the post office to your right) to the underground pedestrian passage leading straight to:

2. Statue Square--To your left after emerging from the underground passage is a cenotaph commemorating "The Glorious Dead" of both world wars. Across Chater Road is the larger part of the square. On the weekend, Statue Square and surrounding Central become the domain of Filipino housemaids, nannies, and waitresses, thousands of whom work in the SAR and send most of what they earn back home to their families. On their day off, they meet friends here, sitting on blankets spread on the concrete and sharing food, photographs, letters from home, and laughter, infusing the staid business district with a certain vitality and festivity. At any rate, a statue of Queen Victoria used to stand here, but it has been moved to Victoria Park. Perhaps appropriately for a town that was established to make money, the only statue remaining in the square is of a banker, Sir Thomas Jackson, former manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. It's interesting to note that he stands facing the:

3. Legislative Council Building--Formerly the Supreme Court and looking curiously out of place in modern Central, the Legislative Council Building was built in the early 1900s by architect Aston Webb, who later redesigned Buckingham Palace, and now houses Hong Kong's lawmaking body, popularly known as "Legco." With its local pink-and-gray granite, Ionic columns, and Chinese roof, the neoclassical structure is typical of late-Victorian colonial architecture and boasts a carved-stone figure above the main portico of the Goddess of Justice holding scales. It carries two flags, one with the red star emblem of China and the other with the bauhinia flower of Hong Kong.

On the other side of the Legco building, to the east is:

4. Chater Garden--This was the site of the Hong Kong Cricket Club until the 1960s. Today, this is the only spot of green in the very heart of Central and is popular with those who practice tai chi (shadow boxing) in the early morning and among office workers on lunch break.

Running alongside the south edge of the garden is:

5. Des Voeux Road Central--This road is easily recognizable by the tramlines snaking along it. What a contrast these quaint double-decker trams make when viewed against the high-rise banks on the other side of the street. Established in 1904 and now the city's oldest form of transportation, trams are the most colorful way to travel from the Western and Central districts to Causeway Bay, especially at night when Hong Kong is ablaze in neon. Des Voeux Road itself was constructed as part of an early-1800s land reclamation project; before that the waterfront was situated farther inland--at Queen's Road. Land reclamation has been proceeding continuously throughout Hong Kong's history, slowly encroaching on the harbor itself. One Hong Kong resident I met joked that so much land was being reclaimed it wouldn't be long before you could walk across the harbor. With Central's most recent reclamation project--which extended the ferry piers for outlying islands far into the water--the joke no longer seems quite so funny.

Take A Break--The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, just west of Statue Square at 5 Connaught Rd., Central, offers several convenient possibilities for taking a break. Foremost is Vong on the 30th floor (tel. 852/2825 4028), a chic restaurant with stunning views and great Franco-Asian creations. After lunch, the Mandarin's Clipper Lounge (tel. 852/2522 0111) is one of the city's most fashionable places for afternoon tea, finger sandwiches, scones, and other goodies. If beer is more your cup of tea, Caledonia, catty-corner from Chater Garden in the Hutchison House at 10 Harcourt Rd., Central (tel. 852/2524 1314), offers pub grub and more than 200 different labels of malt whiskey.

Across from Chater Garden, on the other side of Des Voeux Road Central, is the:

6. Bank of China Tower--This tower rises like a glass finger pointing into the sky. Designed by I. M. Pei, this futuristic building, with its crisscross pattern, also observes the principles of fung shui (Chinese geomancy), as do all modern structures in Hong Kong in an effort to maintain harmony with their natural environment. (Otherwise, disaster would surely strike--something no builder in Hong Kong wants to risk.)

The most conspicuous building on Des Voeux Road Central, however, is farther west. It's the headquarters for the:

7. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited--This company, at 1 Queen's Rd. Central, which generally shortens its name to HSBC, maintains offices in more than 20 countries around the world and employs more than 21,000 people. Hong Kong's first city hall once stood on this site. The Hongkong Bank, located here since 1865, issued the colony's first bank notes in 1881. The present building, designed in the mid-1980s by renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster and reputedly one of the most expensive buildings in the world (almost US$1 billion), attracts visiting architects the world over for its innovative external structure, rather than a central core. It was constructed from prefabricated components manufactured all over the world; the glass, aluminum cladding, and flooring came from the United States. Internal walls are removable, allowing for office reconfiguration. Walk underneath the bank's open ground plaza for a look up into this unique structure, or, if you choose, take the longest freely supported escalator in the world up to the first floor. Much care was given to the angle of these escalators, as well as to many other aspects of construction, in order not to disturb the spirits who reside here (altogether there are 62 escalators in the building, more than in any other office building in the world). Note, too, the two bronze lions you see at the entrance, which have been "guarding" the bank since 1935. You can rub their paws for good luck.

If you walk through the Hongkong Bank's open, ground-floor plaza to the other side, you'll find yourself on Queen's Road Central, where on the opposite side of the street you should take the stone steps leading up to a pathway overhung with branches, known as Battery Path, where you should turn left. Straight ahead is a handsome brick building, the 150-year-old:

8. Court of Final Appeal--This building, which houses Hong Kong's highest court, was formerly the French Mission Building. Just beyond it is the cream-and-white-colored, Gothic-style:

9. St. John's Cathedral--Inaugurated in 1849 and thought to be the oldest Anglican church in the Far East, this church was used for Japanese social functions during the Japanese occupation. You can enter the small church and take a look inside. It underwent extensive renovations following World War II, but still retains quaint tropical characteristics like the ceiling fans.

Take a left out of the church and walk around it to busy Garden Road, where you should turn right and walk uphill. After passing the U.S. Consulate, you'll come to Upper Albert Road, where you should turn right. You'll soon see, on your right, the:

10. Government House--Completed in 1855, it served as the official residence of 25 British governors until 1997. During the World War II Japanese occupation, it also served as the headquarters of Lieutenant General Isogai, who ordered some extensive building renovations, a curious mix of Asian and Western architecture, including ceramic tile roofs and a tower reminiscent of Shinto shrines. Although presently closed, the grand, whitewashed edifice is being considered for eventual transformation into a public events hall.

Across the street, on the corner of Upper Albert Road and Garden Road, is a staircase leading up to the main entrance of the:

11. Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens--This is a wonderful oasis of plants and animals that was established in 1864 and still imparts a Victorian atmosphere with its wrought-iron bandstand and greenhouse. Entrance is free, and the grounds are not too extensive, so it's worth taking the time to wander through to see its tropical botanical gardens, aviaries, and apes. It opens daily at 6am, with the eastern half closing at 7pm and the western part at 10pm.

Exiting the same way you came in, cross to the other side of Garden Road and walk downhill, taking a right after passing the modern St. John's Building. Here, to your right, is the:

12. Peak Tram Station--When this station opened in 1888, the travel time to the top of Victoria Peak was reduced from 3 hours (by sedan chair) to 8 minutes. Today the tram is the steepest funicular railway in the world, and the view from the peak is the best in Hong Kong. I suggest you visit the peak twice during your stay: during the day for the great panoramic view of the city, and again at night for its romantic atmosphere. There's also a great, 1-hour circular walk around the peak, as well as attractions for children. In all, you'll probably want to spend at least an hour or two on the Peak, so you might want to save it for another day.

On the other side of the tram station, on Cotton Tree Drive, is:

13. Hong Kong Park--Before opening as a park in 1991, this was once the grounds of Victoria Barracks. On its grounds is the pink Rawlinson House, formerly the private residence of the Deputy General and now serving as a marriage registry. If it's a weekend or an auspicious day in the Chinese calendar, you'll find many newlyweds posing for pictures in the park. You'll also find a greenhouse, a great aviary with 800 birds, and a playground. Signs will direct you to the park's most important building and Hong Kong's oldest surviving colonial-style structure, the:

14. Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware--Built in 1846, this museum (tel. 852/2869 0690) houses a small collection of tea utensils, with descriptions of tea making through the various Chinese dynasties. It's open Wednesday through Monday from 10am to 5pm. Like everything else in the park, it's free. From here, walk past the fountain (a favorite backdrop for picture taking) to the escalators that will take you downhill to:

15. Pacific Place--This is a large complex filled with department stores, clothing boutiques, restaurants, and hotels. The nearest subway station from here is Admiralty Station, just a couple minutes' walk north, though you don't need to go outside to reach it; follow the signs via the air-conditioned walkway.

Winding Down--There are many eating and drinking establishments in Pacific Place. Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill (tel. 852/2845 4600) is a casual bar and grill that remains open throughout the day for drinks, burgers, and other American favorites. Zen Chinese (tel. 852/2845 4555) is the ultimate in Chinese hip dining, with a Zen-like decor and specialties that border on Cantonese nouvelle. Grappa's (tel. 852/2868 0086) is a moderately priced trattoria with an open kitchen and good food. But for all-you-can eat dining, Café Too, in the Island Shangri-La Hotel at Pacific Place (tel. 852/2820-8571, ext. 8571), is an upscale buffet restaurant offering views of Hong Kong Park's greenery and beautifully presented international lunches and dinners.