The Grand Canyon of Hong Kong

Pineapple Mountain.

28.03.2021 - 28.03.2021

Today I decided to do quite a different type of hike. Most of my recent hikes have involved woodlands, reservoirs and war remains. This one took me to a dried up, parched, desert like landscape with a rocky ravine that I would say is fairly unique for here.

To get there I first travelled to Nam Cheong on the Tung Chung Line, then transferred to the West Rail Line towards Tuen Mun. I got off just before Tuen Mun at Siu Hong Station. This is an area I have been to very rarely. I was about to travel on the LRT which stands for Light Rail Transit. This is a light rail system which serves the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long Districts.

I walked to platform 5 where I boarded train line 505 and travelled five stops to San Wai Station. When I left the train, I crossed the tracks and walked through a residential area called San Wai Court towards Leung King Court. Just after the barrier into Leung King Court, I turned left onto Castle Peak Range Road. There was quite a pretty Chinese style garden at the end of San Wai Court, where lots of people were doing their morning Tai Chi exercises.

The LRT.

This colourful wall served as a useful landmark.

Chinese Garden.

Chinese Gardens.

Chinese Garden.

Castle Peak Range Road is a steep paved road leading up to Leung Tin Au Pass. You will certainly feel the strain on your leg muscles as you climb it. Fortunately, there are several things to look at on route which helps take your mind off the pain. There were bird cages swinging from branches of trees, roadside shrines dotted here and there, beautiful flowering trees and even a man racing large remote controlled cars. On one side of the walk there had been an extensive hillside fire, possibly caused by someone leaving burning incense on one of the hillside graves there. I'm not sure when the fire happened but the smell of smoke still hung in the air. Every now and again there was a view back towards Tuen Mun. When I finally reached Leung Tin Au Pass, I took a rest on one of the many shaded seats there, enjoyed the views and drank lots of my water. The walk I was doing is not always open to the public as parts of it are on an army firing range. When firing practice is taking place, the route is sealed off. Firing practice does not take place at weekends or on public holidays so this is the best time to go.

Starting Point of the Walk.

Washing drying in the sun.

Hibiscus.

Bird Cages Hung on trees.

Pagoda.

Roadside Shrine.

Waving Cats.

Flowers.

Vegetation.

Bamboo.

Roadside Shrine.

Remote Controlled Cars.

Burnt Landscape.

Grave on the burnt landscape.

Chinese Writing on a rock.

Today's wildlife was pigeons.

Seed Pods.

Warning Sign about firing practice.

Much of the trail is on a paved road.

Steep Climb.

Get Ready to Run.

At Leung Tin Au Pass.

View over Tuen Mun.

Tuen Mun.

Hikers and View.

Dry, Parched Landscape at Leung Tin Au Pass.

At Leung Tin Au Pass several trails branch off the road. This is one of the starting points for the Castle Peak climb and there are good views of Castle Peak from here. Castle Peak is one of Hong Kong's three sharp peaks. The other two are Sharp Peak in Sai Kung and High Junk Peak in Clear Water Bay. These are considered some of the most challenging hikes in Hong Kong due to their loose rocks and steep inclination.

View Towards Castle Peak.

Looking back towards Castle Peak.

I was heading for Por Lo Shan Gorge. To get to the gorge I followed the paved road up until it became a dry sandy path. I then went downhill on this path. The landscape here is quite unusual for Hong Kong. All you can see is cracked yellow sand and areas of exposed rock. In some parts there is some tall, parched looking golden grass. The only colour in this area is the bright pink of the occasional Bouganvillia bush.

Fellow Hikers on a parched landscape.

Bouganvillia provides a rare patch of colour.

An Unusual Shrine Thing.

Tiny Pond.

Bouganvillia Archway.

When I neared the gorge the paved road was replaced by a dry sandy yellow path. The closer I got to the gorge the drier and rockier the landscape became and there were several large cracks on the ground. From here there are excellent viewpoints looking across the sea towards Shenzhen in Mainland China and, if you look in the other direction, towards Castle Peak and Tuen Mun. On this part of the trail and around the gorge itself there is no shade. I ended up a bit burnt even though I had put on sun screen.

Parched Landscape.

Rocky Landscape.

Cracked Ground.

Soon I came to an area from which I could look down on the gorge in the distance. Por Lo Shan or Pineapple Mountain is a rugged natural gorge. Its bumpy surface reminded locals of the cracked bumpy surface of a popular local snack - the pineapple bun, hence its name.

Looking down on Pineapple Canyon.

Looking down on the gorge.

Pineapple Gorge.

Gorge.

Red Rocks.

Rugged Terrain.

Gorge.

Red Rocks.

Living on the edge.

Sharp Rocks, Pineapple Gorge.

Pineapple Gorge.

Warning signs are everywhere.

I could have continued on past the gorge and downhill towards the village of Pak Nai, which has a popular beach, but I didn't. I was put off by stories of people having to wait for over an hour to catch the only minibus out of there back to Yuen Long. Instead I doubled back and returned the way I had come. On the walk back I climbed to a viewpoint for views towards Shenzhen. I once again enjoyed the views of Castle Peak and Tuen Mun. I even passed someone who was taking his tortoise, which he appeared to have painted, for a walk. Soon I was back at my landmark wall and the LRT again.

View Towards Shenzhen.

View of Shenzhen.

Lord of all he surveys.

View Over Gorge and Shenzhen.

A splash of colour.

Golden Grass.

Parched Landscape.

View of Castle Peak.

Taking a Tortoise for a walk.

Painted Tortoise.

That Wall Again.

Back at the LRT.

I didn't go straight home. Instead I got off the LRT at Ching Chung Station as I had heard there was a beautiful temple there. I thought I had seen the temple on my trip past earlier so set off that way, but I found that what I had thought was the temple was actually a crematorium and cemetery. It is close to Ching Ming Festival when people tend their ancestors' graves so there were many people here tending graves and burning paper offerings. The Chinese believe that burning a paper offering of something, such as a house or car, sends it to their ancestors in the afterlife. I had a quick look round then headed back to the actual temple I had been looking for. It was right next to the LRT Station.

Paper Offerings.

Offerings.

Ching Chung Koon Temple has a pretty garden filled with bonsai trees, rock gardens, pagodas, pavilions, fish ponds, waterfalls and colourful flowers.

Bonsai Tree.

Beautiful Pagoda.

Temple Garden.

Rock Garden Door.

Gardens.

Temple Garden.

Rock Garden.

Bouganvilia and Waterfall.

This white pigeon followed me all around the gardens.

That white pigeon again.

Garden Window.

A pile-up of turtles.

Flowers.

Ching Chung Koon means Green Pine Monastery. The green pine is a symbol of immortality as it never loses its leaves. Ching Chung Koon is a large Taoist temple which was founded in 1949 by the Dragon Gate Sect of the Complete Reality School of Taoism. It is dedicated to the immortal Leoi Dung Ban. It holds a bonsai festival in April or May each year. The temple was also very busy with people bringing paper offerings to their ancestors who are enshrined here.

Temple.