Six things you must do in...Hong Kong

By Steve Turner
Last updated at 9:12 AM on 28th July 2009

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With its mix of modern skyscrapers, colonial buildings and traditional temples, the former British colony of Hong Kong has remained an economic powerhouse and one of the world's top tourist destinations since its return to China in 1997. Steve Turner gives the lowdown on what you definitely should not miss when you visit this glittering jewel of the Orient...

Light fantastic: Hong Kong's Victoria harbour at night

1. SNEAK A PEAK

At 1,810ft, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island and the best place to get a literal overview of the city, Victoria Harbour and Kowloon beyond.

The quickest way up is to take the Peak Tram from its Garden Road terminus. There's a breathtaking view from the Lions View Point Pavilion or higher up in the Peak Tower, and you can stroll around the twomile circular pathway and look over the rest of the island. It costs $HK33 (£2.58) for an adult return ticket.

Hong Kong at night is every bit as spectacular and the tram stays open until midnight. Watch out for the Symphony Of Lights, a synchronised light show nightly at 8pm involving more than 40 buildings. www.thepeak.com.hk

2. SHOP TILL YOU DROP

Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise with every kind of brand-name store you can imagine, most inside immaculate air-conditioned malls. Harbour City in Kowloon, the biggest, has 700 shops.

Away from the malls, Hong Kong is a great place to buy custom-made shoes, suits and jackets but it's important to get a recommendation.

Hollywood Road is the place to search for antiques, art works and handicrafts. The guidebooks always recommend Stanley Market on the south of the island but to me it lacks character and the goods look far too familiar. Would you travel halfway round the world to buy an Iron Maiden T-shirt?

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3. LIVE THE HIGH LIFE

Hotels don't come much more luxurious than the Mandarin Oriental on Connaught Road where you get a personal check-in at your room along with a welcome snack of pastries and jasmine tea.

An extensive 2006 refit saw the old balconies turned into enclosed verandas, so it's now possible to sit in a splendid seating area looking down on the old Supreme Court building and Victoria Harbour and up to Sir Norman Foster's HSBC Bank Headquarters (587ft) and the Bank of China Tower (1,207ft). The staff are friendly and helpful and when you get back at night, someone has placed carpet slippers on the floor, dimmed the lights and switched on some smooth sounds and an LCD screen of relaxing images. www.mandarinoriental.com

4. GO NATIVE

The wealth may be on Hong Kong Island but Kowloon has the funk. A walk up Nathan Road at night is like walking into New York's Times Square before the Disney and Warner Bros stores moved in. It's loud, brash and colourful but never feels dangerous. It's fun to just let your curiosity take over and drag you down side street after side street.

Late at night, head for Temple Street Market where the traders are still working past midnight. It's as lively as any Middle Eastern bazaar but without the hassle of 'I give you good price' salesmen. Beyond the bright lights, you can see the homes of the ordinary Chinese - high-rise apartment blocks with washing lines strung beneath windows and ancient air-conditioning units on the walls.

Step back into the Sixites: Nancy Kwan in The World Of Suzie Wong

5. HAVE A CULTURAL REVOLUTION

The Fringe Club on Lower Albert Road is housed in a 19th Century warehouse next to the celebrated Foreign Correspondents Club. It's an alternative arts venue, established in 1983, with a theatre, bar, restaurant and gallery.

The night I visited, the theatre was sold out for the Australian comedy Cosi but there was a poetry reading in the bar featuring a group of largely young local poets, including the celebrated Chinese author Zheng Danyi, who unveiled a new poem remembering the Sichuan earthquake. www.hkfringeclub.com

6. GET RELIGION

The Man Mo Temple was established in the 1840s and featured in the 1960 film The World Of Suzie Wong, starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan, and the 2001 video game Shenmue II.

Stepping over its threshold is like entering a timeless zone. The gloomy room, lit mainly by candles to remember the dead, is wreathed in sandalwood smoke from incense spirals that hang overhead smouldering from lampshades. There are probably more ogling tourists than genuine devotees but it's still very much a place of worship.