Hong Kong Tourism Board Looks Beyond the City to Inspire Visitors

Rolling hills and rocky trails, rugged coastlines and beautiful bays, rustic villages and serene islands. These are not the stereotypical images of Hong Kong, however, every weekend the city’s wandering warriors swap the concrete and neon metropolis for the green vistas and marine blues of the countryside.

Reflecting the home-grown popularity of rural Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is rolling out a new campaign, Hong Kong’s Great Outdoors.

To encourage visitors to take to the nature trails, HKTB commissioned local photographers to take photos of the countryside and show visitors to the city what they are missing.

Landscape photographer and Hong Kong National Geographic 2013 photography winner, Will Cho, outdoor sports photographer, Elvis Mo, Nature Conservancy 2017 photography winner, Jessica Li and "Vertical Horizon" photographer Romain Jacquet Lagreze have produced a series of images that tempt visitors to follow in their footsteps.

To go with the campaign the HKTB’s guidebook Your Guide to Hiking & Cycling in Hong Kong outlines a number of self-guided routes divided into Hiking in Heritage, Picture-Perfect Vistas and Geological Wonders.

"We really wanted to show how much more there is on offer in Hong Kong and also how easy it is to reach," said Andrew Clark, HKTB regional director Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, who is keen to tempt Australasian tourists to tap into their adventurous side.

"Just a taxi or MTR ride away, the green rolling hills, quaint beaches and scenic villages quickly replace the bustling urban areas. It's a great day out," Clark said.

The guidebooks are available at visitor centres around the city or can be downloaded as an e-book from www.discoverhongkong.com