Tung Ping Chau: Spectacular Rock And Sea Erosion Landscape

Tung Ping Chau is an offshore island located in the northeast corner of Hong Kong, being its most easterly point, and closer to the border with Mainland China than with the main landmass of Hong Kong. Known for strange and spectacular rock formations, it is home to some spectacular cliffs and wave-cut platforms, hardly found in the rest of Hong Kong. Unlike most other rock types in Hong Kong, Tung Ping Chau is made up of sedimentary rock and has the youngest sedimentary rock in Hong Kong.

Ping Chau has been designated one of the eight Geo-Areas of the Hong Kong National Geopark, and a Marine Park in Hong Kong, occupying a sea area of about 270 hectares enclosing the island. It is said that Tung Ping Chau is only the divable site in Hong Kong, with its rich species of coral and algae.

Historically, Tung Ping Chau was a fishing island. At its peak, there were 1500 inhabitants who had  their own local dialect call Ping Chau Language. Due to its remote location, the island is no longer inhabited.

The visit to Tung Ping Chau has got to be a day trip. There is only a ferry going to and returning from Tung Ping Chau on Saturday and Sunday : 9am departing Ma Liu Shui pier near the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and 5:15pm returning from Tung Ping Chau to the pier.

The ferry time is about 1.5 hours. Return ticket fare: HK$90. So you will have about 7 hours on the island, plenty of time to walk around. There are two restaurants on the island, to the right of the Tung Ping Chau pier. You can have lunch there.

How to get there:

Take the exit going to Science Park at University MTR Station of the East Rail line. Follow the sign of ferry pier for going to Ma Liu Shui pier. Midway, you will need to go under and pass two tunnels before reaching the other side to arrive at the pier. Just follow the crowd. Many people go to the pier for ferry to Tung Ping Chau or other outlying islands during the weekend.

The ferry starts at 9am at Ma Liu Shui pier. The return journey is a bit tricky. The official time is 5:15pm. But when I was there last time, I was able to board the ferry at 4:45pm which started at about 4:50pm. The ferry company, it is believed, sent another smaller ferry to fetch the other people at 5:15pm.

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