West Kowloon train station
The closing of the old KCR train station situated on Tsim Sha Tsui’s waterfront, left great bitterness when it was demolished in 1978. Despite a vehement petition, the colonial landmark that had originally been built on reclaimed land in 1910, had to be taken down to make way to a new “cultural zone” with a pedestal, the controversially designed Kowloon...
A quick guide to Lai See (red envelopes)
What is it? You may have heard many stories about the origin of red envelopes; the most widespread dates back to the Qin Dynasty when elderly people would thread coins with a red string. The money was referred to as “money to avoid old age” and was believed to protect the person from sickness and death. It was eventually replaced by...
Warm welcome to the Xiqu Centre!
From Victoria Peak, it may look like a giant steel yogurt but traditional Chinese lanterns in fact inspired the new Xiqu Centre’s design. The centre is the first cultural venue to open in the West Kowloon Cultural District and is dedicated to showcase the finest in Chinese Traditional Opera (xiqu in Chinese). While the main entrance represent partly opened theatre...
Should you follow local superstitions while in Hong Kong?
Most of our clients are oblivious to superstitions and they are often amazed at the consideration Hong Kong people give to local beliefs when visiting landmarks, temples, and certain places. These are however century-old traditions that can, if not taken seriously, lead to bad omens. Local superstitions mostly derive from Feng Shui principles, which by using natural energy forces help individuals...
Invitation to Travel in Hong Kong (the filming of a TV show)
Hong Kong a la carte is an inbound travel agency that focuses on organizing private and tailor-made city tours throughout Hong Kong. Yet, thanks to our training and experience, we are regularly contacted to give assistance to various other projects such as the shooting of television shows. Helping on each of these projects has been very rewarding, as we often not...
Urban Feng Shui
Some of our guests believe they already know Hong Kong before they arrive. A private tour however always helps rediscover so-called familiar areas and shed light on features that did not seem important. It also helps recreate History and understand superstitions hiding amongst buildings. Feng Shui is one of these significant elements. Experts will tell you that Hong Kong’s remarkable destiny...
All you need to know about the Hong Kong-Zuhai-Macau bridge crossing
Much has been written about the Hong Kong-Zuhai-Macau bridge since it opened last September. The mega structure is very popular with tourists and more than 100,000 people, the first weekend, and almost 77,000 people last weekend, mostly mainlanders, used the bridge. This has led to many logistical and infrastructure issues such as long queues at tourist attractions and disorder in...
Chung Yueng festival
This Wednesday we are celebrating the Chung Yueng festival which falls on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. Just like many traditional Chinese celebrations, the festival’s origins are difficult to identify but the legends are numerous. For some, the 9th day of the 9th lunar month produces “too much” Yang and brings misfortune. In order to seek protection and to...
Living typhoon Mangkhut
In a previous post, we told you about typhoons, how they form and what they are. We shared the good advice from the Hong Kong Observatory to stay indoors so that no one gets hurt. Good on us as nobody could have ever imagined what was about to happen...
Typhoons in Hong Kong
Experiencing a typhoon for the first time can be daunting in Hong Kong. But unless safety is at risk, we seldom cancel a tour. It will be windy and wet but most of the time, typhoons can also be a lot of fun. Typhoon season usually spans from May to October. But over the past few years, the Hong Kong Observatory...