Cheung Chau with a Resident — the Island I Call Home

For 25 years I have lived on Cheung Chau — a car-free former fishing island of about 25,000 people, 35–55 minutes by ferry from Central, with a ferry leaving the pier every 30 minutes. No other guide in Hong Kong can show you this island like a local resident. Come and see the Hong Kong that locals keep for themselves.

The island in a nutshell — and why I love it

🏝️ The name literally means "Long Island"; it's shaped like a dumbbell, and about 25,000 people live on barely two square kilometres — one of the most densely populated islands on Earth, yet nobody owns a car. 🚫🚗 It feels like everybody has at least two bicycles 🚲🚲 — I own five or six myself; honestly, I haven't counted in a while. 😂 You'll see my own one parked on a streetlamp, 50 metres from the pier 💡🚲 — watched over by friends, the shop owners. We don't worry much about lost bikes here... 😉

The world slows down on this island: beaches and swimming in a clean sea 🏖️, incredible views back toward the skyline 🌇, the friendliest village people you'll ever meet, bicycles everywhere (we'll ride them if you're up for a quick discovery ride! 🚲), dozens of little cafés for coffee ☕ or a cold beer 🍺, harbours full of fishing boats ⛵. We'll pass the Pak Tai Temple 🛕 — built in 1783 to thank the sea god for ending a plague — and if you're brave, the cave of the pirate Cheung Po Tsai 🏴‍☠️, who once ran his empire from these waters. Every spring the island stages its famous Bun Festival 🥮: towers of blessed buns and men scrambling up them — a sight you won't believe.

Seafood everywhere 🦐 — one honest note: the village chefs do crabs the Chinese way, and only the Chinese way. 🦀 I'm telling you now so nobody is surprised at the table. 😉 And fair warning: by the end of the day you'll find out why the islanders call me Chef Hans 👨‍🍳, Cat King 🐈, or Governor — I'm like a local celebrity here, but only the likeable parts, ha ha ha! 😂

Getting there — and where the clock starts

We take the ferry from Central Pier 5 — you choose the fast ferry (about 35 minutes) or the slow classic; ferries leave roughly every 30 minutes and the tickets are on me when we travel together. I'll send you exact, foolproof directions for getting from your hotel or your cruise ship to Pier 5. Prefer to start on the island itself? No problem: come over on your own and I meet you at the island's pier — that gives you more time with me, since a hotel or Central pickup is where the clock starts earlier. On board we talk about the island, the boat people, and what 25 years here has taught me.

There are no private cars on Cheung Chau (small print: there are a few — police, ambulances and fire trucks in mini versions — and that's it). No traffic jams, just narrow lanes, bicycles, fishing boats and one of the best waterfronts in Hong Kong. Most visitors never make it here. That is exactly why you should.

Sample itinerary (half day, 4 hours)

• Meet at Central Pier 5 (or your hotel, then MTR to Central together) — or I meet you at the Cheung Chau pier if you come over on your own
• Ferry crossing — fast or slow ferry, your choice; tickets on me when we travel together. Arriving like a local, not like a tour group
• Waterfront and harbour: still-working fishing boats, dried seafood stalls, the smells of the old island
• Pak Tai Temple (1783) — and if your dates match the famous Bun Festival (usually around Buddha's birthday), this day becomes something truly special
• Wander the lanes: village houses, tiny temples, the school, my neighbourhood — life at 3 km/h
• Optional: Cheung Po Tsai's cave — the hideout of Hong Kong's most famous pirate, clamber included
• Optional: bicycle ride to the Italian Beach (+2 hours, or swap it for other stops)
• Seafood lunch on the waterfront (you choose the catch, the kitchen cooks it) or my favourite small local eateries
• Ferry back to Central — or stay longer and I'll tell you how to enjoy the island on your own

The Italian Beach

And then there is the ride to my favourite and most secluded beach — we call it the Italian Beach. There is a very high chance that this 100-metre strip of white sand is just for us. No public facilities there, so we bring our own drinks, and I can bring towels if you fancy a dip in the sea. Don't ask where the toilets are — just pretend you're Robinson Crusoe for an hour. (Optional: the beach ride adds about 2 hours — or we skip other parts of the itinerary to fit it in.)

You can also do Cheung Chau as a full day — longer seafood lunch, Tung Wan beach, the mini Great Wall lookout walk, or a slow afternoon in a beach café. Full day: 8 hours, HK$ 4,500.