Wan Chai Gap Road

Lee Tung Avenue, known as the Wedding Card Street, was the place to get wedding invitations designed and printed. Three traditional tong lau tenements built in the 1940s still stand, as testimony to the area’s history. Continuing along Queen’s Road East, you will pass by Hopewell Centre, Hong Kong’s first circular skyscraper, before arriving at the Old Wan Chai Post Office. The oldest surviving post office in Hong Kong, it features a tiled pyramidal roof, gables, and plaster mouldings.

Situated on Stone Nullah Lane, the Blue House Cluster consists of three tong lau tenements: Blue House, Yellow House, and Orange House. It lights up the street spectacularly and adds a sense of nostalgia to the area. The balconies on the four-storey Blue House make it a rarity among Lingnan-style tong lau, which usually don’t have balconies. Later, walk up Wan Chai Gap Road for a different view of the city.

Also called Wan Chai Green Trail, Wan Chai Gap Road goes from crowded city streets to lush greenery. Take a slight detour to visit the 9-metre-tall Lovers’ Rock on Bowen Road, a granite monolith where many locals pray for a happy marriage and fertility to allegedly positive effect. It attracts the most pilgrims during the Seven Sisters Festival, informally known as “Chinese Valentine’s Day”, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Green Trail is worth a visit, if just for the sweeping view of Happy Valley and Causeway Bay’s skyline.

Continuing on Wan Chai Gap Road via Bowen Road, you will find yourself enshrouded in lush canopy above trickling streams. On your way back down, check out the Police Museum, which offers an interesting look at the history of the Hong Kong Police Force, with exhibits including old uniforms, equipment, firearms, and other artefacts. Particularly recommended are the galleries that feature information on the triads, as well as replicas of old heroin manufacturing facilities.