The first time I came to this place was when I was in high school anxiously waiting for my public…read moreexamination result and came for the orientation camp. The entire campus was packed but there was this lake that got my attention right off the batch and it is called Weiyuan Lake or Lake Ad Excellentiam. Its Chinese name literally means "unfinished lake". I am not much of a philosophical person I believe with the bridges across the lake, I knew that there must be some kind of meaning behind this, so I went to ask quite a lot of students who were from one of the colleges there , Chung Chi college and surprisingly... none of them knew why it was called Weiyuan Lake... Anyways, I remember back then the water condition was rather bad and you could see mosquitoes everywhere, IT WAS HORRIBLE, which reaffirms the notion that The Chinese University of Hong Kong is located in countryside and you would have lots of opportunities to be friends with little insects. Yet, I cannot disagree that this lake in fact is nicely constructed with the lotus blossoming and the Chinese pavilion which becomes a popular picture spot for graduates. Who would have thought after a few months and I had become a student there. The only regret I had was I did not come all the way down to Chung Chi and have a picture there during my graduation as I spent most of my time atop the hill. However, for others, this lake certainly captions the essence of Chinese gardening; so bring your camera.

This spot has to be one of the best oasis in Hong Kong...I had planned to go to Tai Long Wan with a…read morefriend who was visiting me but we made a last minute change of plans and decided to go to the pool. We still needed to pack food and water and wake up early anyway. We started our trip in Wan Chai and took the MTR to Tung Chung and then bus 11 to Tai O. That was all pretty smooth and as we got to Tai O village, we strolled around for a few minutes and got on our way quickly after buying some water. The hike to the pool is moderate difficulty wise but the humidity made it a little harder than expected (and the view of the infinite...flight of stairs) but it's enjoyable: the views are pretty amazing and it's peaceful. When the level of sweatness was reaching its peak (or an hour into our hike) we could hear the waterfall...! And finally, the pool! We spent a good four hours there, swimming, chatting, meeting new people, climbing. We also had our lunch sitting on the rocks and overlooking the landscape. It couldn't get any better! Be warned that there's no food or water available once you leave Tai O, so make sure you bring enough of those. As we were leaving, the sun, who had left us for a few minutes, came back! So we had yet another bath. This was around 5pm and although some people had already left, the pool was still busy. A note on that: the earlier you get there, the better, as the ground is all made of rocks and it's uneven and you may want to find a nice spot to eat and rest. It's a really cool place to go on a sunny day. Easy to reach but far away enough so that it's not overcrowded. I hope it stays that way. Now next stop Tai Long Wan!

I think I was the last one in Hong Kong to hear about this infinity pool. I'd hear tourist talking…read moreabout an infinity pool in Tai O on the Mui Wo ferry and I'd think, you've got it wrong, the Four Seasons is in Central! I got it wrong. I may be a little harsh with my rating of the pool mainly because I've seen some awesome waterfalls around the world (not trying to boast). For Hong Kong this place is amazing, were it not for the huge influx of visitors it'd be the first place on my list to bring friends visiting HK. The hike to the pool is not so bad. It would be better were it not for the fact I got lost and added another 30 minutes to it. 30 additional minutes of dodging spiders the size of my face is not fun, trust me. Be sure to google the directions first! The only challenging part being the stairs. It's great though (think positive!) because after feeling exhausted and on the brink of heat stroke there's a cold, freshwater pool waiting for you to collapse into. The pool itself is a decent size with enough rocks nearby to have a little picnic, soak up the sun and dangle your legs in the water. It also has a gorgeous view overlooking mountains and the sea. Behind the pool is a mini rock-pools under a giant waterfall, which is just as much an attraction as the infinity pool in my opinion. I spent much of my time getting a free massage from the cascading water. The hike back was much easier, and being later in the afternoon most of the spiders were gone. All in all I would highly recommend the place to any one. If you can avoid going on a weekend then do so and save it for a weekday. I went on a Monday and it was too full for my liking so I can't imagine what it would be like on a day off!

The Plover Cover Reservoir is one of Hong Kong's biggest body of freshwater- apart from serving as…read morea source of water; this reservoir is now a major attraction in itself. On the main sea wall separating the lake from Tolo Harbour, a road stretches over from Tai Mei Tuk right to the other side of the reservoir. On weekends you will see entire families enjoy a range of activities such as cycling, kite flying and just a simple stroll along the bank. This is a particularly scenic location as you have two bodies of water at this location, one being the reservoir and the other being the harbor, whereby the harbor usually has more activities such as sailing boats, ships and even wake boarders - the reservoir bans all such activities and its just a calm lake with a backdrop of the hills behind it. With Hongkongers increasingly embracing the outdoors and looking for different locations to enjoy activities, this is a location that truly caters to the entire family. Apart from the main bank, there is also the numerous spots for BBQ along the side of the reservoir. These become quite busy as well with families coming to enjoy the great outdoors and parking becomes non- existent.

Amazing view. 有山有水。半天遊之後再去飲早茶。交通方便只要慢慢行，隨時可以睇到令你驚喜嘅風光。A good time for sure. Don't miss if you are…read morein Yuen Long.

Birds, open ground, a clean river- thee are all things that you would associate with the great…read moreoutdoors and very, very not Hong Kong. Sai Kung aside though, there is one particular location in the North West corner of Hong Kong, just outside Yuen Long, that may change your perception of what the "fragrant harbor" is all about. If you came here looking for completely unfettered nature- then you would be hugely disappointed. This part of the Yuen Long was previously a collection of neglected farmland, floodplains and just land that was not yet planned for anything. However, human activity was clearly possible and the river that runs through it had been polluted to the point that nothing without a hazmat suit on could survive in it. An overhaul was conducted by the government in widening the course of the river and cleaning out all the gunge in it and this had revitalized the location as a spot of natural attraction. Seasonal birds migrate here, there are some features of the ones abundant marshlands and more importantly at the end of the road that runs along the river, there is a large piece of flat green grassland that permits any kind of activities. You can fly kites, ride bikes or let your kids run loose like the plains of Africa. The problem with all this is that at the weekends this means complete gridlock and meanwhile you still have to fight the cyclists also coming through here. All the downsides though, are nothing if you could make it at sunset and you see the sun dipping below the horizon. Its a beautiful sight and one that is certainly not very Hong Kong.

Sincerely I had not dug deep into the bits and pieces of Chinese University campus before. My only…read moreknowledge of the place was limited to one or two landmarks; the campus being much larger than HKU, covering the whole of the mountain; plus a few of the famous food items from their canteens. Luckily, there was one time when I visited the graduation show of CU Architectural Department, and a cool friend took me on a petite tour around the campus. The most special place that struck me was the Pavilion of Harmony next to some dormitory buildings, designed by an ex-architecture department professor Freeman Chan. In fact, it is merely as small pond at the top of a mole, embracing an age-old tree. When you go up the narrow ramp on the side, or simply walk up the few steps to the terrace where the pond sits, you would suddenly see this small pond, linking seamlessly with the ocean and the sky wayyyy beyond. There is also a narrow footpath on its side abutting the slope downwards, where you can overview the whole of the Science Park below. With just one simple gesture, it multiplies the sensations that the scene of this small mole brings to you. This is what good architecture would do to a natural scenery. It prooves that the act of building doesn't always equate destruction, but can also elevate and accentuate a place, when done right.

During my registration day here at CUHK I heard so much about each college (back then there were…read moreonly four - New Asia, Chung Chi, United and Shaw) and had been struggling to choose which one I should go for. Then I heard someone said this - "No final year project in New Asia". Okay, that just made my choice very easily. Thanks! If you ask me, I really do not know much about Chinese literature but one thing I know for certain is that Chinese literature and culture seem rather interwoven with New Asia college. You can tell by the statue of Confucius in the middle of the lawn where people often take pictures with it. Another thing I like about this college is that New Asia is always the destination for most school buses. As a person who often finds myself lost in the middle of nowhere, knowing that I will get to NA no matter which school bus I hop on certainly makes it all better. Unfortunately I had to say I was not that involved with the college activities and I was not that hardworking as a student, you can picture me burying my head in my laptop writing papers during assembly. Anyways, let me sum this up: I like that New Asia is a rather chill college that does not require you to take all kind of sports competition, does not make you a easy target during some chanting between colleges, and certainly does not make you worry about whether you will have enough marks to get a room in the dormitory.

Wonderful park with different decor for each entrance on the Nathan side. Love it with the…read moreanimated characters...and painting on the floor. Well maintained and couple or several water fountains. We just walked through but felt safe plus felt not in a city rather in a fun relaxing atmosphere vibe. And it is right in the middle of a busiest street in HK.

A beautiful, well-maintained park with multiple geyser water fountains, lush foliage, sculptures,…read moreand lots of places for sitting and enjoying the ambiance. There's even a hedge maze and avenue of HK comics. It's well lit at night, safe and clean. Excellent place to visit or just walk around.