Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
still in good condition. His corpse was covered in gold leaf and placed in a building on the
second level. You can climb to the top of the nine-storey pagoda for panoramic views.
From the monastery you can see Lion's Rock (495m/1,600ft), shaped like a lion lying in
wait, a small rock formation known as
Amah (Mother) Rock
, which is actually a pile of
several rocks that resemble a woman with a baby in a sling on her back. Legend has it that a
local woman climbed the hill every day to watch for her husband returning from across the
sea; one day the wife and her child were turned to stone as a permanent symbol of her en-
during faith.
Lion Rock Country Park
y
[map]
, the 5.57 sq km (2 sq miles) of forested
hills between Sha Tin and Kowloon can be explored by hiking along either stage 5 of the
Maclehose Trail or stage 5 of the slightly easier Wilson Trail.
Also in Sha Tin, by the Shing Mun River Channel, is the
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
u
[map]
(
www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk
;
Mon, Wed-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-7pm;
charge). The museum contains a fun interactive guide to Cantonese opera, art galleries and
exhibits dedicated to telling the story of Hong Kong's culture and history.
Down to earth, the
Sha Tin Racecourse
can accommodate more than 80,000 spectators
and is equipped with every imaginable luxury, including a giant video screen facing the
stands, and air-conditioned stables for the horses. Opposite the Sha Tin railway station,
New
Town Plaza
features shops, cinemas and even a computer-controlled musical fountain.
At University station is the campus of the
Chinese University of Hong Kong
. The
Art
Museum
(Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; free) in the Institute of Chinese
Studies is worth a visit for its painting and calligraphy collections.
