Hong Kong’s Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park —Waterfront Tranquility
During my latest trip to Hong Kong, I discovered a wonderful waterfront park quite by accident. Thanks to getting a good night’s sleep on my first night in Hong Kong, I was up and walking around the city at 7:00am on my first full day there. After a brief MTR (Subway) ride from Kowloon to Hong Kong, I found myself walking around some of the early morning markets that open before most retail shops and attractions.
I do this on purpose so that I can experience a version of Hong Kong that most visitors miss. At this time of day, small fruit, vegetable and meat markets are open throughout Hong Kong’s various neighborhoods and it gives a visitor like myself a great look into the daily life of Hong Kong’s residents. When I tour these markets, I purposely do not take photos or try to be any more obvious than I already am, I try to be the fly on the wall and not disturb anything.
As I was winding my way through the streets and alleys, I came down towards the waterfront near the Western Market and Macau Ferry Terminal. In this part of Hong Kong (Sheung Wan), you’ll find a large variety of dried seafood and other dried goods for sale by a multitude of shops. In this vicinity, across Connaught Rd, stands the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park with wonderful views of the Harbor and Kowloon.
This was my first visit to the park since I’m usually not the type to pause for long periods of time during my travels, but since I had an hour to pass before any of my favorite shops opened, I decided to take a break, buy a cup of tea and enjoy the park.
The park is named after a historic figure in China’s History. Dr. Sun Yat-sen is revered as the founding father and first President of the Republic of China. He played a pivotal role in the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Though he served as President of the Republic of China for only 2 months, his legacy has endured and is he is revered throughout Asia.
The park is a wonderful combination of green space and paths that allow people to enjoy themselves in a very quiet surrounding even though the park is surrounded by Hong Kong’s Skyscrapers. The park also has a soccer pitch and a few basketball courts as well. Hopefully the following photos give you a sense of the park’s space and attributes.
The east end of the park is set next to the Macau Ferry Terminal
More of the Macau Ferry Terminal adjacent to the park
A wonderful pathway lines the harbor along the entire park
Plenty of meticulously maintained green space
The park's location affords fantastic views of Kowloon
The park also has great views of Hong Kong's skyline as well
An open plaza encourages people to meditate and practice their morning exercises
This gentleman was practicing his sword work.......
The park excels at wonderful views.
The Memorial Lawn is the focal point of the park
A statue of Dr. San Yat-sen is centered on the Memorial Lawn
A sports complex (swimming pool) is located on the western end of the park.
Several Park Directories are located throughout the park to aide visitors.
The next time that you find yourself in Hong Kong, I would encourage you to find and enjoy this park. Especially in the mid morning hours, it is fairly empty and very quiet. There are many benches where you can take a seat and enjoy taking a break from the fast paced city that surrounds you. It’s a short walk from the Sheung Wan MTR station, and is also fairly close to the Hong Kong and Central MTR stations as well.
