Video | Wild Hong Kong: fans of country parks oppose concreting of trails, taking land for homes
Country parks make up 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s area, but the threat of development is never far away; avid hikers are campaigning to highlight and safeguard the city’s green heart as interest in the countryside grows
Wooded hillsides, craggy ridges and wheeling birds of prey are a world away from Hong Kong’s skyscrapers – but the city’s country parks are a necessary balm for its stressed out residents.
With some of the world’s highest property prices, Hong Kong’s fast-paced lifestyle and long working hours also take their toll.
Fortunately, within easy reach of the densely packed tower blocks and traffic, there is an extensive network of hiking trails which snake over hundreds of peaks and along coastlines.
Forty per cent of Hong Kong is protected country park and nature reserves, amounting to 443 square kilometres, and draw hikers, runners and campers all year round.
For 29-year-old Cheung Dai-yu, those natural landscapes changed his life.
Upturn in hiking in Hong Kong has a downside, as solitude becomes increasingly hard to find
As a keen amateur photographer he decided to document some of the city’s remoter areas. His discoveries led him to cut down his spending and reduce his working hours as a graphic designer, during which he had developed a bad back, and go part-time as he sought a healthier, happier existence.
