Five days in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Junk boat sailing across Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
As the sun dips behind Hong Kong’s skyline, its beaming lights illuminate a quivering path across the water, bathing the meek waves in an assortment of shades. Relaxing in a lounge chair on the upper deck of the Aqua Luna II, a junk sailboat slowly circling around Victoria Harbor, a glass of Cabernet Franc in my hand, I hear the faint ambient music from the on-board loudspeakers competing with the flapping of the sails. While we glide along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the promenade at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, I watch the sky change from red to purple, marveling at the different hues that highlight the transition from day to night. Across the water, I can see crowds gather, waiting for the dramatic display to come.
Then it begins. At 8 p.m. sharp, the iconic high rises on Hong Kong Island and the adjacent Kowloon Peninsula come to life, erupting in massive laser beams and colored lights and turning the already imposing skyline into a wonderland of dancing sparkles. Since 2004, the daily 20-minute Symphony of Lights has set the harbor ablaze with—according to Guinness World Records—“the world’s largest light and sound show.” For anyone visiting this city of 7.3 million, the spectacle is a must-see because it delineates the growth of Hong Kong from yesterday’s sleepy fishing village to the gleaming mega-metropolis of today.
More than 1.3 million tourists, including many from the U.S., visited Hong Kong in 2018—an increase of more than 7 percent from the previous year. “Hong Kong’s storied history, award-winning culinary pedigree, vibrant arts and culture scene, and stunning great outdoors has made it widely known as one of the most exhilarating destinations in the world, with unforgettable experiences around every corner,” says Bill Flora, director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board USA.
Historic Yu Garden.
And the good news is that it’s never been easier—and faster—to get there. Traveling to Asia from Virginia used to be an exhausting full-day trip that required at least one layover at a major U.S. hub. But that changed last September when Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, launched its first nonstop flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Hong Kong. In December, I took the flight with a small group of travel and lifestyle writers for a five-day trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai (make that a week, including travel time). With 8,153 miles in just under 16 hours, this isn’t just the longest flight in the airline’s global network, it’s also the longest haul you can take anywhere in the world from Virginia soil. But in the airline’s comfortable new business class, time, you know, flies.
After arriving at Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport at dawn, we were eager to recharge our batteries with a modern Chinese breakfast (assorted steamed dim sum basket with shrimp and mushroom dumplings) at Café Causette, one of nine restaurants at the iconic Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. We were just in time to watch the sun rise over the harbor.
This was my second visit to Hong Kong—I first went in 1998, just one year after the transfer of sovereignty from Great Britain back to China, commonly known as “The Handover.” I was curious to see how Hong Kong had changed in the two decades since becoming a special administrative region of The People’s Republic of China. But during my 48 hours there, I found that not much is different—at least on the outside. You have to talk to a native like Jason Zhou to get the inside scoop. I met the 32-year-old aerospace engineer at the Captain’s Bar, the Mandarin Oriental’s in-house jazz club. He has spent most of his life in Hong Kong, and the changes since 1997, he told me, are subtle but noticeable, from the replacement of Cantonese with Mandarin as Hong Kong’s official language to a different interpretation of Hong Kong’s constitutional laws by the Chinese government. “When they changed the electoral system, making it more restrictive, we’d had enough and took it to the streets,” says Zhou, who participated in the 2014 sit-ins that made worldwide news as the Umbrella Revolution.
The Pearl Tower in Pudong.
But as a tourist today, you feel none of these tensions. With its countless waterfronts, high mountain peaks, and dizzying skyscrapers, Hong Kong remains a welcoming destination for visitors from all over the world, despite the transition of power. From self-guided walking tours in Old Town Central and Sham Shui Po, to the city’s culture, history, museums, and entertainment venues, Hong Kong is a truly incredible place.
It’s also very, very green. You wouldn’t think it, but three-quarters of Hong Kong’s 427 square miles of land is actually rural. We started our second day in the city with a visit to Sai Kung, a small village known as Hong Kong’s back garden because of its beautiful beaches and seafood restaurants.
From there, we headed to the public ferry pier and boarded another of Hong Kong’s authentic junk boats for the two-mile trip to Kiu Tsui Chau, or Sharp Island. As we sluggishly rolled through the waves, I stretched out on the boat’s bow, taking in the breathtaking sights around me. The wind whipped my face, blowing my hair back. The scent of the mild ocean breeze was chaste and unpolluted, a welcome change from the smog that envelops the city.
Sharp Island is a remote enclave in the South China Sea strewn with rocks shaped like pineapple buns (a local specialty). Because of its rare volcanic formations, the island is part of Hong Kong’s only UNESCO Geo Park. “Sharp Island is a perfect example of wave erosion landscape,” says tour guide Lo Wing Sun, a retired geology teacher.
Volcanic formations on Sharp Island.
Photo by Markus Schmidt
After half a day on the water, we headed back to Hong Kong Island, where we concluded our 48-hour stay with a shopping extravaganza at the Ladies’ Market on Tung Choi Street. The one-mile stretch has more than 100 stalls of bargain clothing and souvenirs, and is the ideal place for practicing your haggling skills. The market gets its name from the huge assortment of clothing and accessories for women, but with watches, home furnishings, toys, CDs, and trinkets, there’s plenty to find for everyone.
The next day our group boarded a flight with Dragonair—a Cathay Pacific subsidiary—to Shanghai. Two hours later, we touched down at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and found rain lashing the windows. Unlike in Hong Kong, American tourists require a visitor visa to enter China, but once it’s approved, passing through the immigration checkpoints is a piece of cake.
Our hotel, the Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai, was in Pudong, a district located east of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai. Pudong’s imposing skyline, including its most recognizable landmark, the 1,500-feet Oriental Pearl TV Tower, did not exist as recently as 30 years ago—much of the area was farmland. It has since become a booming business district and China’s financial center, with more than 300 Fortune Global 500 companies located there.
It was still raining the next morning when we met Tian Jing, our tour guide. A native of Shanghai, Jing has witnessed her hometown’s transformation into the largest city in the world by population—it has grown at a rate of about 10 percent each year for the past 20 years and now is home to 23.5 million people, nearly double what it was back in 1987. “Beijing is more for politics, and Shanghai is more fancy and trendy. A lot of people want to move here because it’s easier to find a job,” says Jing. “Shanghai is very modern, not like Beijing, which is more historic.”
To demonstrate the contrasts between ancient traditions and China’s more recent opening to the West, Jing began our tour with a stop at the Huangpu District’s historic Yu Garden, which dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and has been dubbed “the crown of beauty in Southeast China.” We attended a tea ceremony, a central piece of Chinese culture. “Chinese people drink tea like water, all day long,” says Susan Wei, a tea teacher who has studied the art for three years at a master tea school and even taught former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Seafood market in Sai Kung.
Next, we headed to the Xintiandi, a fashionable pedestrian street composed of old-style Shikumen residences and modern architecture. Here, old China meets new China. You’ll get a glimpse of Shanghai in the 1920s as well as the lifestyle of urbanites of the 21st century, with no shortage of upscale restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world. And, no tour of Shanghai is complete without a visit to the Bund, a mile-long stretch of waterfront promenade along the Huangpu River with dozens of buildings of various architectural styles, including Gothic, Baroque, and neoclassical, and many opportunities for picture-perfect selfies with the skyline as the backdrop.
On our last day in Shanghai, we toured the Aurora Museum, one of China’s very few privately owned museums, which houses the collection of the Aurora Group’s chairman, Yung Tai Chen; over 40 years, he has gathered many Chinese treasures. From ancient pottery, porcelain, Buddhist statues, and jade artifacts to postmodern art, the museum offers a different perspective of Chinese culture, standing “at the crossroads of history and modernity, creating a dialogue between the old and the new,” according to its director, Joy Lay.
We said farewell to Shanghai with a seven-course dinner at the Michelin-starred Yong Yi Ting restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Pudong. Chef Tony Lu showcased Jiang Nan cuisine from south of the Yangtze River, reflecting the diverse gastronomy of Shanghai and its neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Hong Kong and Shanghai are wild, bustling, ancient, modern, scenic, and full of surprises and opposite perspectives. I found the mega-cities welcoming and packed with perks—fantastic destinations for a short getaway, although in five days I just tapped the surface. But it’s quick and easy to go back; until then, ci-di-gin, or, see you next time!
Buddha statue on Lantau Island.
Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Office of Tourism
Trip Tips
How To Get There
Cathay Pacific offers nonstop flights four times per week from Washington Dulles International Airport departing at 12:15 a.m. and arriving in Hong Kong the following day at 5:10 a.m., making it easy to connect to Shanghai and other centers across Asia. (You will need a visitor visa for any destination in mainland China.) Business class tickets start at $8,146; premium economy at $3,105; and economy at $1,651. CathayPacific.com
Where To Stay
Hong Kong: The iconic Mandarin Oriental has been a city staple for more than 50 years. The luxurious rooms and suites offer magnificent views of the famous Victoria Harbor and the city skyline, and the Shanghainese-inspired holistic spa is legendary. Even if you don’t stay here, make sure to visit one of nine top-tier restaurants and bars, including three with Michelin stars. Rooms start at $401. On the other side of the harbor, the award-winning Kowloon Shangri-La, with its 688 elegant guestrooms, offers five acclaimed food and beverage outlets, including a Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, a sophisticated lounge, and a chic bar. Rooms start at $217. If you are on a budget, The Royal Garden in the business and shopping area of Tsim Sha Tsui is a stylish alternative with its 110-foot atrium and rooms starting at $185.
Shanghai: Revel in luxury at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai Pudong, which sits on the upper floors of a 58-floor tower, and sample the best foods at one of the many onsite restaurants, including Michelin-starred cuisine at Jin Xuan Chinese and Italian fare at Scena. Rooms start at $254. The nearby five-star Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai is one of the newer additions to the city’s growing landscape of luxury hotels. The Mandarin’s spa offers holistic treatments and educational workshops in Chinese astrology, and palm and face reading, and the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is just half a mile away. Rooms start at $251. For the budget traveler, the boutique hotel Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai makes a stylish base to start your sightseeing, with Gucheng Park and Yu Garden in walking distance. Rooms start at $122.
What To Do
Hong Kong: The spectacular Victoria Peak is a good place to start. At 1,800 feet, it’s the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, offering a fantastic panoramic view. Then, take the Star Ferry over to Kowloon (just 25 cents per ride) and visit the famous Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay, built in the 13th century to honor the goddess of the sea. Next, head over to Hollywood Road to shop at some of the city’s best art galleries. In the afternoon, relax at one of Hong Kong’s many sandy beaches, most notably Pui O Beach on Lantau Island (also the site of a giant Buddha statue) or the northeastern district of Sai Kung. In the evening, enjoy the jazzy chic of one of the city’s popular speakeasies, like the J Boroski in SoHo, with an artisanal cocktail.
Shanghai: Start with a visit to the 2,000-foot Shanghai Tower in Pudong, the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world. The 360-degree observation deck offers amazing views of the city. Then, head to the four-mile Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s famous shopping street, which attracts more than a million visitors daily. Next, grab some authentic Chinese food on Huanghe Road, the city’s foodie Mecca, which offers everything from cheap lunch dishes to late-night snacks. For your spiritual cleansing, visit the 1882 Jade Buddha Temple with its two jade Buddha statues imported from Myanmar by sea. Before you call it a night, take a boat cruise on the Huangpu River and enjoy the scenic views of the skyline along the Bund.
This article originally appeared in our August 2019 issue.
