Ping Chau - Tourism

Tourism

The island has a temple dedicated Tin Hau in the village of Sha Tau, and a Tam Kung Temple. Many early residents of Ping Chau were from Shantou (Swatow) and they kept the tradition of worshiping Tam Kung after they settled on the island. There are many ancient buildings dating to 300 years ago that can also be found there.

On one side of the island there are steep cliffs, below which is an amazing wave-cut platform, with jagged rocks, set at a 30-degree angle, like a staircase. Here there are many rock pools containing all manner of marine life, such as sea urchins and crabs. On the island's coastline at the pier side, there are over 60 different species of coral, and 35 species of algae. In fact, some say that Ping Chau has the only diveable sites in Hong Kong.

For most, the island is reachable by ferry from Ma Liu Shui ferry pier, near the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The landing point is the Tung Ping Chau Public Pier, the only public pier on the island, located at Wong Ye Kok (王爺角). The ferry service is operated by Tsui Wah Ferry Services Co. Ltd on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only. The journey takes 1 hour 40 minutes.

During the weekends, there are many people on the island. These include those who have come to dive, and those who have come to see the cliffs and wave-cut platforms. Some people also use it as a weekend home. There is a camping site as well as picnic and barbecue sites on the island, managed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. 57,000 people visited Ping Chau in 2005.