Hiking Cheung Chau

Two of the most popular places to explore (nature-wise) on Cheung Chau are the Reclining Rock and the Cheung Po Tsai Cave.  Both of which can be found at south west part of the island.  It's best to get here by taking a rented bike, but there is also a lovely smooth walk along the waterfront that a lot of people do take…it just takes a lot longer!

The park area that leads to the Reclining Rock and the Cheung Po Tsai Cave is marked by this stone gateway, which is easy to see…as the main road sort of ends here.

You can park your bike along the waterfront rails or just around the area, but, after passing through the gateway, you have to definitely walk.  I've never seen anyone actually bike around on the trails in the park…and that's probably because they are restricted, but out of respect for the trails, it's best to go on foot.

The paths throughout the area are all nice, smooth, and paved, which is good for those who are not into extreme hikes.  It's a lovely little stroll up these hills, through the forests, and around to the edges of Cheung Chau Island.

As always, you can find some pretty amazing things that people do in the name of nature vandalism.  I always wonder if Bamboo hurts when people etch things into them!

The first place we ventured off to was the Cheung Po Tsai Cave.  This is probably what draws a lot of people out to this end of the island.

Cheung Po Tsai is the name of a famous pirate who lived back in the 18th century.  Reading up about him online, he was kidnapped at 15 by Cheng I and Ching Shih (a pirating couple).  He was sort of adopted by them as time went on and took on the trade of pirating from them.

In his later years, Cheung Po Tsai became a naval officer in the Chinese imperial navy…

The walk down to the entrance of the cave is beautiful and goes along the Cheung Chau coastline.

While waiting in line, we read up a bit about the cave…

The cave was marked with a little sign, so it is easy to find…if you don't spot the line.  I chose to not head down into the cave because I'm not in the peak of health conditions at the moment, but my husband and friends went down there.  From what I saw, it was dark and narrow.

I feel like it's a great little thing to explore if you want a safe adventure to go on!

This cave was said to be one of Cheung Po Tsai's stash houses…but no one has found treasure in there yet…if you don't count the numerous plastic bottles that could be picked up down there and recycled for petty cash.

While they were all exploring the cave, I kept above ground and headed over to the Reclining Rock.  The Reclining Rock is a group of five extremely huge rocks that look like they are all about to fall into the sea…

I'm not sure if there is anything particularly special about them besides the fact that they are beautiful to look at and also set in such a wonderfully scenic area on the island.

In the picture below, you can see the Reclining Rock on the right side of the image.

The walk down to the Reclining Rock is not that far from the Cheung Po Tsai Cave.  It has a bit of steep stairs that take you down to the waterside.

It's a nice little adventure zone as well…because you can duck under rocks and go through a little cave area (though the cave isn't as grand as the Cheung Po Tsai cave…).  But, I quite liked the little hike down to the water.  I especially enjoyed the hike (or really walk up the stairs) back to the park.  I'm a lover of climbing stairs.

At the base of the stairs, before you head over to the open area, is this little open cave-like area.  It's where a lot of people take a pit stop to take photos.  So, this little area gets quite jammed…be careful!  You might fall into the water or be pushed accidentally onto uneven ground!

Below is a view of the direction of the Cheung Po Tsai Cave.  The area is quite beautiful as it is set right along the water line.

From the steps to the Reclining Rock, there is a huge area of flat rock where you can picnic, sit and reflect, take photos, etc.  It's a nice little area to just chill.  It also has a lot of space, so I didn't feel like it was overly crowded!  And having space in nature if lovely!

A closer view of the Reclining Rock…

Which, looking at them now, I feel like they don't really look like they are on the verge of slipping off into the ocean.  I mean, they are massive and weigh thousands of tons…so they seem pretty safe…

But, people do climb up on the rocks, which is always something that I'm a bit nervous about…so I would implore caution!

The other really cool and interesting thing about this hiking area is that there are cactus everywhere.  I mean, they are more prevalent along the Reclining Rock pathway, but it is quite interesting how there is cactus here of all places.  I always just imagine cacti in deserts.

The hiking paths around this area are really great for the casual hiker.  I saw women in heels and skirts easily make their way around.  The hills are not too hilly.  The steps are not too steep, but they are quite narrow.  People usually make way for each other.  It's a really great little place to check out when on Cheung Chau.

Biking Cheung Chau

Walking Cheung Chau Island is quite a fun activity, but when you want to get all the way from the ferry pier over to the Reclining Rock or the Cheung Po Tsai Cave…walking will take up most of the day's adventures.  

I suggest going to one of the bike rental places and picking up a bike for a few hours.  You have to pedal slowly and maneuver pretty carefully around the main street area because there are always a lot of people around, but when you get a bit towards the outskirts and into the residential areas, you can bike more freely.  

The bike rental place that we've been to the most often is located nearer to the Pak Tai Temple area of Cheung Chau.  It's located on Pak She Praya Road, right at the corner of the Pak Tai Temple's basketball court area…

Mountain bikes are available to rent…

There are also bikes with training wheels that you can attach…

You can select bikes with fenders, baskets, etc…there is a good variety amongst the little group of bikes that are rentable at this little shop.

We mostly rent here because the owners are always really nice…but, most of the shop owners on Cheung Chau are incredibly nice!!  But, we just tried this place a few years ago and stuck to it...

As well as little tuk tuks.  But, these are considered illegal to ride if someone is riding in the back seat.  If a police officer catches you, you'll be fined.  So, most of the bike rental vendors tell you that you can ride the bike, just not with someone on the back seat.  Though…I've seen many a people sitting in the back seat of these tuk tuks!

For the bikes, it costed us either 10 HKD, 20 HKD or 30 HKD per hour…depending on the type of bike.  We got one mountain bike, one smaller wheeled bike and one tuk tuk. The shop owners will tell you how much each bike costs to rent for an hour.

We told her that we'd probably rent the bike for three hours…I'm not sure if this is the policy, but the first hour was free for all of us.  So, we paid for two hours each.  It seemed like such a great deal!

The woman helping us also logged our info into her book before she gave us bike locks and we rode off.

The thrice times that we've rented bikes here have all been a quick and smooth process.  There has always been bikes available as well.  And the entire process is so casual.  I really like this bike rental shop.

We've biked around most of the island by now, but today we were exclusively going down to the Reclining Rock and Cheung Po Tsai Cave.  I thought it might be nice to show you what the main street and ride down to that area looked like.

This is basically what Cheung Chau's main shopping and eating area along the waterfront looks like on a winter's day!

***Scenes along the main waterfront street of Cheung Chau.  We rode from the bike rental place to the Reclining Rock and Cheung Po Tsai Cave hiking area.***

There are a few bike rental shops along the main road…

While one side of the main street has shops and restaurants, the other side has a lovely view of the water…filled with docked boats…

Along the main street, there are a plethora of shops that sell some pretty awesome souvenirs…

Near the ferry piers…there are the usual name brand shops and restaurants…

Near the ferry pier there are a handful of kiosks which offer vacancies for room rentals…

After riding past the wet market, we came to a docking/loading area…and this was nearer to the outskirts/residential areas of the waterfront area…

From this sitting out area on, the roads were pretty much ruled by cyclists.  And it was only a 5 minute bike ride more to the hiking and outdoor viewing areas of the island…which will be in my next blog post!

Exploring Cheung Chau

If you want a more cultural experience, try checking out one of a few of the temples on Cheung Chau.  In today's blog post, I want to take you around the Pak Tai Temple.  This is the temple where the famous Cheung Chau Bun Towers are placed every year.  I'm not sure about the exact dates of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, but it always seems like it is in the month of May. 

The Pak Tai Temple is located to the left of the Cheung Chau ferry pier.  When you exit the ferry, take a left on the main street and keep walking along the waterfront.  You will see the basketball court and temple on your right.  I think it is about a 10 minute casual walk from the ferry pier.

This temple is so well maintained.  The tiling on the roof and even the ornamentation along the walls are beautiful.

The temple faces the water, which seems appropriate as the temple was constructed for the Taoist god of the sea.  There is an awesome website that has a lot of information on the temples around Hong Kong:  Chinese Temples Committee.

That website is where I got most of my background information about the Cheung Chau Pak Tai Temple.

Similar to a lot of the temples around Hong Kong, the Pak Tai temple was constructed in honor of the god of the seas.  Because a lot of the early Cheung Chau residents were fishermen or had work on the seas, they would seek the protection of Pak Tai.

Fun Fact:  The temple was constructed in 1783 after a plague broke out on the island. The plague subsided after the image of Pak Tai was brought to the island.  It was seen as an omen.  So, after that, the Cheung Chau people built the temple in honor of Pak Tai.

I spent a good portion of my time in awe of all the ornamentation that adorns the main entranceway of the temple.  I'm not sure about what the images are projecting, but I sort of wonder if it tells the story of the construction of the temple.

Going inside the temple is quite a lovely experience.  It was quiet and serene and people walked through with reverence.  I love how temples and churches do that to people.  There is just a sense of needing to be quiet and respectful when going through anything quite sacred.

The main area of the temple is where a lot of patrons pay homage, pray, and burn incense.

To the left and the right of the main temple area are the side halls.

I really love the fragrance that the coil incense gives off.  It's not as overwhelming as those of Hong Kong island's Man Mo Temple, but it is still quite lovely.

Behind the three halls is a courtyard area, which is really just as peaceful and serene as the temple itself.  It's a nice little place to sit and reflect on the beauty of the temple.

The next two images are of one of the side halls.  The rooms were empty when I was exploring, but it was really nice to see the detailing on the sliding doors unclose.  The work it went into carving out these flowers on the door panels is just amazing.

The mosaic in the foyer area was also amazing.  So much detail went into the construction of this temple that it leaves me awestruck.  I do wish I had more education on the temple though.  Like what is the symbolism of this image of the adult tiger and the cub?  Is the mosaic telling the story of something?  What do the flowers or the birds atop this mosaic symbolize?  There is just so much I still have to learn about the wonderful things in life!

I also wonder about the little dragons or lions that are set in front of temples.  I wonder if they are guardians who safe guard the temple deity.  I just love the sentiment that goes into the construction of sacred places.

To the left of the temple sits a huge tree, which I wonder if it is symbolic of anything taoist.  It totally makes me think of when we biked around Yuen Long awhile ago and we stumbled upon the Temple Under A Big Tree.

It's always nice to see something more cultural when visiting Hong Kong.  I feel like a lot of the things that are easily accessible to people are the shops and the food.  There are a lot of tourist designated spots that are more cultural, like the Big Buddha on Lantau, the Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan, or the temple with 10,000 Buddhas in Shatin…which are more popular…

But, there are also some cultural things that you can find just walking around randomly…like little temples tucked away on the back streets of some districts…

There is always something wonderful and interesting to find!