1,000 Places to See Before You Die

by Patricia Schultz

  SHOPPING

  NIGHT MARKETS—Hong Kong is known the world over as a shopper’s nirvana. Competition in the city is steep and furious, and reproductions and fakes are ubiquitous. This doesn’t detract from the fun of bargaining at the variety of Hong Kong’s night markets (those who don’t like to haggle should stay away) that often thrum with shoppers till midnight. The best in town are the Ladies’ Market, for inexpensive women’s clothing, bags, and accessories, and the Temple Street Night Market, for an astonishing selection of everything from clothes and CDs to luggage and shoes—even fortune tellers—at the Yau Ma Tei end of the street.

  ANTIQUES—Hollywood Road is a world-renowned antiques-buying and -selling center brimming with Tang, Song, and Han Dynasty treasures, including figurines, books, chests, and popular ancestor portraits. Counterfeits are rampant (and some vendors might forget to remind you that it’s against the law to take pre-1795 artifacts out of China), but reputable shops give a certificate of authenticity. Trustworthy dealers include Lam & Co., specializing in ceramics and pottery figurines; Dragon Culture, owned by Victor Choi, a well-known antiques collector and book author (with a second gallery in New York); Honeychurch, with a huge selection of handwoven carpets, as well as a superb collection of opium pipes and antique books; and Chak’s for all things Buddha-related. Near the western end of Hollywood Road is Upper Lascar Row, commonly known as Cat Street, where more antiques shops and contemporary art can be found. LAM & CO.: www.lamantiquities.com. DRAGON CULTURE: www.dragonculture.com.hk. HONEYCHURCH: www.honeychurch.com/hongkong. CHAK’S: www.chaks.com.hk.

  Antiques connoisseurs head to Hollywood Road for the best selection.

  TAILORED SUITS—Nothing fits or feels better than a custom-made suit, and the world’s top tailors can be found in Hong Kong, rivaling those on London’s Savile Row for a fraction of the price. Most of the better hotels have tailors on-site, and if not, the concierge will have one on speed dial. It usually takes a few days and two or three fittings before a suit is completed, so make an appointment for your first day in town. Some of the more famous options: Sam the Tailor, who has been making shirts for royalty, U.S. presidents, and celebrities for decades; Punjab House, with more than 100 years experience and a reputation for friendly service; W. W. Chan, who also makes women’s clothing; Jim’s Tailor Workshop, a favorite with Hong Kong expats and locals alike; and Mode Elegante, with a shop in the historic Peninsula Hotel (see p. 492). SAM THE TAILOR: www.samstailor.biz. PUNJAB HOUSE: www.punjabhouse.com.hk. W. W. CHAN: www.wwchan.com. JIM’S TAILOR WORKSHOP: www.jimstailor.com. MODE ELEGANTE: www.modeelegante.com.

  WHERE TO STAY

  FOUR SEASONS HOTEL—Wall-to-wall windows and fantastic views of Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, or the Peak are the highlights at this cool urban stunner, in either the traditional Chinese–inspired or Western-style rooms, both of which are enormous. An outdoor infinity pool on the sixth floor is outfitted with underwater speakers. Of its two outstanding restaurants, Caprice (see next page) serves contemporary French cuisine, while Lun King Heen—one of the most renowned restaurants in Hong Kong—focuses on Cantonese seafood and dim sum lunches, both with views of the harbor. INFO: Tel 852/3196-8888; in the U.S., 800-819-5053; www.fourseasons.com/hongkong. Cost: from $540; lunch at Lun King Heen $100.

  HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL—Perched at the tip of Kowloon Peninsula and actually built out over the harbor’s edge, the InterContinental isn’t just the city’s haute hotel, it’s the social center, and the ultimate see-and-be-seen scene. The heart-stopping views from its 40-foot windows make its lobby one of the most visually stunning in the world (with many of the guest rooms—as well as the Presidential Suite’s infinity pool—sharing the same stupendous vista). Take in an uninterrupted 180 degrees of Hong Kong’s skyline and unceasing water traffic in its buzzy Lobby Lounge. Its refined Chinese restaurant, Yan Toh Heen, is lauded as one of Asia’s—and the world’s—finest, for traditional Cantonese cuisine, here served on exquisite table settings of hand-carved jade and ivory. Switch cuisines at NOBU, where master chef Matsuhisa showcases his world-famous Japanese fusion fare. INFO: Tel 852/2721-1211; in the U.S., 800-424-6835; www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com. Cost: from $300; prix-fixe dinner at Yan Toh Heen $130, at NOBU $115.

  JW MARRIOTT HONG KONG—Sitting atop the Pacific Place shopping and dining complex, this 27-story hotel is right in the middle of the action. Angled windows offer views over the harbor or Victoria Peak, and rooms come stocked with of-the-moment comforts, from BOSE sound systems to the finest of linens. Talented chefs work wonders with the freshest of lobster and fish at the fifth-floor sushi bar, adjacent to the hotel’s signature JW’s California grill, loved by locals. A whole roster of facilities—including a heated outdoor pool and round-the-clock top-grade gym—will sweeten your stay. INFO: Tel 852/2810-8366; in the U.S., 888-236-2427; www.jwmarriotthk.com. Cost: from $385; dinner at JW’s California $120.

  NOVOTEL CITYGATE HONG KONG—Novotel is raising the bar considerably for airport hotels. Just a complimentary 10-minute shuttle ride away from the runways in the thriving new Tung Chung district, it provides an affordable, alternative look at Hong Kong, especially if you’re only in town for a quick stopover. The hotel offers easy access to Lantau Island and Hong Kong Disneyland, and it sits beside the city’s best brand outlet mall—plus an adjacent MRT (train) station makes getting into the city center fast and easy. Perfect soundproofing, sleek interior design, a stylish outdoor pool area, and several excellent restaurants make for a very pleasant stay. INFO: Tel 852/3602-8888; www.novotel.com. Cost: from $140.

  THE UPPER HOUSE—Opened in 2009, this contemporary hotel is located above the swanky Pacific Place shopping center in Admiralty. Andrew Fu designed it as a tranquil retreat, using natural woods and bamboo in each of the 117 apartment-size rooms. Contemporary paintings and sculptures are displayed throughout the hotel; meanwhile Café Gray, on the 49th floor, marks the return of celebrated Chef Gray Kunz to Hong Kong. The restaurant features a 46-foot-long open kitchen and bar and serves dressed-up American comfort fare before spectacular panoramic views. INFO: Tel 852/2918-1838; www.theupperhouse.com. Cost: from $425; dinner at Café Gray $80.

  EATING & DRINKING

  BO INNOVATION—Tantalize your tastebuds at the novel restaurant of tattooed chef Alvin Leung. Born in London, raised in Toronto, he now baffles and thrills Hong Kong with his “extreme Chinese” molecular cuisine. Foodies should come for the traditional dishes that have been given a radical twist with Japanese and French influences: egg-tart martinis, smoked quail eggs with caviar, or stir-fried Wagyu beef, the likes of which you won’t likely taste anywhere else. In a city of superlative food, competition is ferocious, but nowhere else will you find a chef so humorously daring and resolutely determined to catapult classic Chinese cuisine into the 21st century. INFO: Tel 852/2850-8371; www.boinnovation.com. Cost: tasting menu $100.

  CAPRICE—Book before you arrive in Hong Kong for this splash-out dinner—one of the city’s great dining experiences. Within the rarified environs of the Four Seasons hotel (see previous page), Caprice’s sleek and spectacular dining room combines Chinese and Art Nouveau décor with views over Victoria Harbour or into the open kitchen. Providing a departure from the city’s local cuisine (it’s a good choice for when you can’t look another dumpling in the face), here the meals are French provincial, offering the likes of lobster bisque, beef and lamb fillets, duck with foie gras and Savoy cabbage, generous sprinklings of truffles, and superb cheese selections. The prolific wine list is international but focuses on Bordeaux and Burgundy. INFO: Tel 852/3196-8888; www.fourseasons.com/hongkong. Cost: dinner $140.

  DA PING HUO—Hong Kong has one of the most vibrant food scenes on the planet, and the recent rise of hugely popular “speakeasies,” aka private kitchens—unlicensed restaurants, often located in private homes—has only added to the variety. One of the best of these unusual venues is Da Ping Huo, where a 12-course tasting menu takes you through all the many (and very spicy) delight
s of Sichuan cuisine and may include fresh crab, braised beef, or delicate melon soup. The intimate, contemporary restaurant has a laid-back and friendly vibe and is decorated with the owner’s artworks; the chef and co-owner sometimes emerges from the kitchen to serenade the guests with an aria of Chinese or Western opera. INFO: Tel 852/2559-1317. Cost: dinner $40.

  LUK TEA HOUSE—Having opened its doors in 1933, the most famous teahouse in Hong Kong—with ceiling fans, marble-topped tables, and a days-gone-by Art Deco ambience—is probably the oldest too. Try a variety of Chinese teas and Cantonese dim sum, all made tourist-friendly with English photo menus. Since this is one of the few establishments where dim sum is served late (until 5:30 P.M.), it’s easy to avoid the breakfast and lunch rush. Just don’t expect your waiter to smile. INFO: Tel 852/2523-5464. Cost: dim sum “meal” $35.

  TEA—AND DINNER—AT THE PENINSULA—If it’s late afternoon in Hong Kong, what better way to absorb the city’s colonial past than beneath the gilded, coffered ceiling of the Peninsula’s exquisite lobby? A virtual shrine to past empires, it has been the white-glove venue of choice for afternoon tea (and for an overnight stay among discerning guests) since its doors opened in 1928. Everyone is here: international businessmen, frazzled shoppers, impeccably groomed tai tais from Hong Kong’s old-moneyed families, the wide-eyed and curious. Tea consists of trimmed finger sandwiches, delicate French pastries, and scones with clotted cream, all delivered on three-tiered silver servers by waiters in starched uniforms. If you’re looking for something trendier, the hotel’s top-floor Felix Bar and restaurant has an interior designed by Philippe Starck, dazzling views, a chic, champagne-quaffing crowd, and a Pacific Rim fusion menu. INFO: Tel 852/2920-2888 (hotel); in the U.S., 866-382-8388 and 852/2315-3188 (Felix); www.peninsula.com. Cost: afternoon tea $25, dinner $80.

  YUNG KEE RESTAURANT—For over 30 years, Chef Ho Tung Fung has been cooking in the restaurant started as a modest food stall by his grandfather in 1942. Now a Hong Kong institution, everyone (from both Presidents Bush to Angelina Jolie) flocks here for its specialty goose menu. It runs many pages, but the consistent favorite is the Roasted Goose in Five Delightful Varieties. The restaurant occupies four floors in its own Yung Kee Building, efficiently serving 2,000 people a day with 300 to 500 Black Crest geese delivered here daily. And note: You needn’t like goose to love the experience. INFO: Tel 852/2522-1624; www.yungkee.com.hk. Cost: dinner $45.

  DAY TRIP

  MACAU—Before reverting back to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, the 11-square-mile peninsula of Macau had been under Portuguese rule for 442 years. Its curious mix of Portuguese history, Chinese traditions, and Las Vegas casinos is a 1-hour ferry ride (or adrenaline-pumping 15-minute helicopter jaunt) away from Hong Kong. Soak up the Portuguese vestiges at Macau’s namesake: the A-Ma Temple, parts of which are more than 500 years old. Or head to the 17th-century Guia fortress and chapel of St. Paul’s atop Macau’s highest hill, and the Moorish Barracks, a military barracks named for its architectural style. Fisherman’s Wharf, opened in 2004 on reclaimed land, is alive with performances, shops, and restaurants—and round-the-clock casinos, including the Sands Macao, Wynn Macau, and Venetian Macao, each with a roster of designer restaurants. Before hopping the return ferry, dine at the pink 1870 Clube Militar de Macau, once the officer’s club for the Portuguese army, now serving both Portuguese and Macanese dishes in a time-worn colonial atmosphere. WHERE: 40 miles/64 km southwest of Hong Kong. VISITOR INFO: www.macautourism.gov.mo. CLUBE MILITAR: Tel 853/2871-4009; www.clubemilitardemacau.net. Cost: dinner $25.

  Neoclassical buildings line Macau’s tiled, pedestrian-only Senado Square, a hub since colonial times.

  The Yangtze River: A Gallery of Natural Art

  THE THREE GORGES

  Hubei and Chongqing, China

  The mighty Yangtze River cuts right across the geographical and imaginative heartland of China, and its most famous stretch through the Three Gorges ranks among the world’s most beautiful places. The gorges offer unparalled scenery and are renowned in Chinese poetry and painting for their history and lore.

  The Three Gorges—Qutang, Wu, and Xiling—encompass 126 miles of the almost 4,000-mile-long river, the third longest in the world. River cruising is popular here, with some trips from Shanghai to Chongqing taking a leisurely week or longer, while other, shorter itineraries concentrate on the Three Gorges alone. At Wushan, most cruise ships stop to shift passengers to smaller, more maneuverable boats for a detour to the Three Little Gorges along the narrow and even more dramatic Daning River.

  The Three Gorges made headlines in 1995 when work began on the world’s largest dam and hydroelectric project, a multibillion-dollar effort that resulted in the relocation of more than a million people. Completed in 2009, it has partially submerged the gorges’ vertical cliffs, rapids, and dozens of cultural sites and ancient temples, not to mention hundreds of villages and cities. The sheer scale and beauty of the gorges remains impressive, though it is true that the peaks are not as high nor is the bottom of the ravine as narrow. Visitors often find a shore excursion to view the immense hydroelectric project an unexpected highlight of the cruise.

  The new Viking River Cruises’ Viking Emerald carries 256 passengers in rooms and suites that all have private balconies, while Abercrombie & Kent’s MS Yangzi Explorer accommodates just 124 passengers, in cabins and suites that feature private balconies and elegant imperial style.

  WHERE: Chongqing, 895 miles/1,440 km west of Shanghai, is usually the start or end point for the especially scenic Chongqing-Yichang section of Yangtze cruises. Tours generally originate in Beijing and end in Shanghai (or reverse). VIKING RIVER CRUISES: 12-day “Imperial Jewels of China” itinerary includes a 6-day cruise. In the U.S., tel 800-304-9616; www.vikingrivercruises.com. Cost: from $2,445 (off-peak), from $5,000 (peak). ABERCROMBIE & KENT: 12-day “Highlights of China” trip includes a 3- or 4-night cruise. In the U.S., tel 888-785-5379; www.abercrom biekent.com. Cost: from $5,475 (off-peak), from $7,180 (peak). WHEN: both companies Apr–Oct. BEST TIMES: Apr–May and Sep–Oct for warm weather and generally blue skies.

  Landscape Art That Still Casts a Spell

  THE GARDENS OF SUZHOU

  Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

  An ancient Chinese proverb remains true today: “In Heaven there is paradise; on Earth, Suzhou.” Founded 2,500 years ago and known as the Venice of the East for its many lakes and canals, the picture-book city of Suzhou was one of the oldest and wealthiest cities in the empire during the Ming Dynasty and was praised by Marco Polo when he wrote about far away Cathay. Today, it’s a thriving city, with more than 100 gardens, as many silk factories, and a bustling central shopping district.

  Suzhou’s historic gardens are the very embodiment of Chinese landscape design, with every rock, plant, path, stone lantern, and pond carefully placed so that each step frames another impeccable vista. The Garden of the Humble Administrator is the largest, built in the early 16th century on 10 acres of lakes and pools connected by graceful arched bridges and stepping-stone pathways, and giving the impression that the entire middle section of the garden is floating on water. Look for the city’s smallest garden, Master of the Nets—first laid out in 1140, it is considered to be Suzhou’s most perfect.

  Situated just south of the Garden of the Humble Administrator, across an artificial lake, the Suzhou Museum was designed by I. M. Pei (whose ancestors came from the city) and opened in 2006. It illustrates the Chinese-American architect’s goal of bridging ancient and modern China, blending East and West, and mingling tradition with innovation. Resembling an ancient structure of whitewashed walls and dark gray clay roofing, the low-rise museum showcases over 30,000 cultural pieces, including many excavated relics and other local works spanning three dynasties.

  Liuyuan, the Lingering Garden, was built in 1593, and is considered one of China’s four most important gardens.

  WHERE: 52 miles/84 km northwest of Shanghai. GARDEN OF THE HUMBLE ADMINISTRATOR: Tel 86/512-6751-0286; www.sz
zzy.cn. MASTER OF THE NETS GARDEN: Tel 86/512-6529-3190; www.szwsy.com. SUZHOU MUSEUM: Tel 86/512-6757-5666; www.sz museum.com. WHERE TO STAY: In the new, western area of the city, the Shangri-La Hotel is located in a high-rise with great views. Tel 86/512-6808-0168; www.shangri-la.com. Cost: $105 (off-peak), $400 (peak). BEST TIMES: Apr and Sep–Oct for gardens at their best; Sep for Suzhou’s famous crab season.

  What’s Black and White and Loved All Over?

  GIANT PANDA TRACKING

  Foping, Shaanxi, China

  It’s estimated that less than 1,600 giant pandas remain on earth, and despite aggressive programs creating reserves for these gentle giants, they are limited in number, and the never-ending threat of poaching leaves their future in question. High in central China’s Shaanxi province, the biologically rich forests of the rugged Qinling Mountains are home to the Foping National Nature Reserve, the only place in the world where the public is able to track giant pandas in the wild.

  The mountains provide abundant cane and bamboo, pandas’ preferred diet, and local trackers and porters guide small groups of wildlife enthusiasts in search of the animals as they forage for food. Summers find the pandas at very high altitudes, making them difficult to follow, but in autumn and early winter, they gravitate to lower stretches and, with the likely presence of soft snow, tracking becomes easier.