The Dragon's Back (Chinese: 龍脊) is a mountain ridge in southeastern Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong that passes through Shek O Peak. It lies within the Shek O Country Park. In 2019, the Dragon's Back Trail was selected by CNN as one of the world's 23 best trails.[1] Dragon's Back is part of Stage 8 of the Hong Kong Trail.[2]

Starting point of the Dragon's Back trail along Shek O Road in 2015.
Dragon's Back
Traditional Chinese龍脊
Simplified Chinese龙脊
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLóng Jǐ
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinglung4 zek3
Dragon's Back towards the north.
Dragon's Back hiking trail sign.
One of Shek O Country Park's entrance point, located near the Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution.

Hiking information

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Destinations in the vicinity

Highlights

  • Paragliders hanging in the air and eventually drifting down to a beach at Shek O.
  • People flying radio-controlled gliders.[3]

Overview

Area: Southern District
Starting point: Shek O Road near To Tei Wan Village
End point: Big Wave Bay
Average hiking time: 4 hours
Distance: About 8.5 km
Refuel: There are no refueling stops along the trail.
Difficulty: Moderate

Most of the route is on dirt paths. The first half has very little shade, and there is also a steep 200-metre-long uphill stretch. The flight of descending stone steps in the last section is quite steep too.[4]

 
A waypoint located along the Dragon's Back trail, with a view of the Shek O behind.
 
A partial sight of the Dragon's Back trail.

Information and hiking etiquette in Hong Kong

  • Hong Kong's Country Parks have no trash bins, so hikers are asked to hang on to their litter until they exit the Country Parks[5]
  • Hikers in Hong Kong tend to keep to the right side when walking on trails.[citation needed]
  • Try to limit boombox music volume to a minimum in Country Parks to let everyone enjoy the sounds of nature.
  • Big Wave Bay Beach (the End point) and nearby Shek O Beach are two different beaches. There is a short bus service that links the two beaches.
  • Some parts of this trail are rocky, so travellers should use proper footwear. Slippers and sandals are not advisable.
  • At Pottinger Gapyue, hikers can extend the hike by walking along the easy Pottinger Peak Country Trail eastward for about 20 minutes and then make a 90-degree right turn onto a newly made path that descends southward for another 20 minutes to the Big Wave Bay Prehistoric Rock Carvingsde, yue].

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Minihane, Joe (2019-03-29). "23 of the world's greatest hiking trails". CNN Travel. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. ^ "Shek O". www.afcd.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  3. ^ "Travel Guide | Shek O and Dragon's Back - Hiking". Urban-Outdoors. 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  4. ^ "Dragon's Back: one of Hong Kong's most popular hikes | Hong Kong Tourism Board". Discover Hong Kong. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  5. ^ "Bins on Hong Kong's hiking trails gone for good". South China Morning Post. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
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22°14′09″N 114°14′37″E / 22.2357°N 114.2437°E / 22.2357; 114.2437