Islands District

Places of interest

Tian Tan Buddha

The great bronze Buddha above Po Lin Monastery.

Hong Kong Disneyland

A full family day at Penny’s Bay.

Ngong Ping and Tian Tan Buddha

The Buddha and Po Lin Monastery are Lantau’s best-known sights. The mountain setting and the way up matter as much as the statue. When it is running, the Ngong Ping 360 cable car makes the ride part of the day; buses are the other way up.

Leave time for the monastery and the public paths around it rather than dashing up for a photo. GWO’s Tian Tan Buddha guide covers the visit in detail, including how it links with the journey from Tung Chung.

Tai O

Tai O is all lanes, waterways and streets of stilt houses, with food rooted in fishing. People live and work here: it is not a museum set. Keep to public routes, ask before close-up photos of residents, and leave private doorways clear.

The old police station, now the Tai O Heritage Hotel, adds another layer of history. A meal and a slow walk by the water can beat a rushed boat trip. GWO’s Trips from Hong Kong guide puts Tai O in the wider Lantau day trip.

Mui Wo and southern Lantau

At Mui Wo you step off the ferry into village life beside Silvermine Bay. It suits a gentler day that is not built around the cable car or the Buddha. Nearby paths and historic sites let you stretch the visit to suit your time and energy.

Southern Lantau’s beaches, including the Cheung Sha area, make another outing. Choose your beach by how you will get there and current conditions. GWO’s beaches guide helps you compare them, while the walking trails guide separates easy coastal strolls from hard mountain routes.

Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau is easy to enjoy without a car: a compact town, a harbour, temples and beaches. Eat and people-watch on the waterfront, then follow the lanes to the rest of the island. A short walking loop shows you a great deal.

The island’s Bun Festival is a cultural event all its own, with its own crowds and arrangements. GWO’s Festivals and events guide sets the scene. On an ordinary day the charm is quieter but just as real: a working harbour, a stop at a bakery and time beside the sea.

Lamma Island

Lamma has two main ferry landings, Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan, linked by the well-known family walk. Cafés, village streets, beaches and seafood restaurants make a fine day.

Lamma is not just for leisure: homes, work and major power infrastructure share the island. That mix is part of its character.

Peng Chau and smaller island outings

Peng Chau suits a quiet, village-sized visit. Its lanes, temples and industrial past give you reasons to wander without a plan. A small island can fill several hours well because you are not rushing between big sights.

Po Toi and other harder-to-reach islands need closer checks on sailing days, weather and return boats. Treat them as planned trips. Frequent ferries to a large residential island do not mean the same service everywhere.

Tung Chung and Discovery Bay

Tung Chung has shopping at Citygate Outlets, food and a major transport hub, but also older heritage such as Tung Chung Fort. A visit shows the gap between the early settlement and the airport-era town.

Discovery Bay is a planned place to live and relax, with its own ferry and bus links. These modern towns round out a district best known for old villages and beaches.

For a separate theme-park day on Lantau, Hong Kong Disneyland at Penny’s Bay is reached via Sunny Bay and the Disneyland Resort Line, though officially it lies within Tsuen Wan District.

How the Islands District came to be

People lived on these islands long before modern Hong Kong, and archaeological finds point to early coastal communities. Fishing, farming and local sea trade shaped villages that were often linked more by water than by road.

Temples and festivals grew up within those communities. Tin Hau and other deities are still part of island life, and the traditions of Cheung Chau and Tai O carry local history into the present. They mean far more than the crowds they draw.

On Lantau, people settled around bays, in valleys and on mountain slopes. Monasteries added another cultural role. Smaller islands held compact villages and industries, whose traces survive among today’s homes and shops.

In the 1990s the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok transformed northern Lantau. Reclamation, roads, bridges and the Airport Railway made a new gateway to the city, and Tung Chung grew into a new town. The district’s economy and population shifted sharply.

Recent airport and urban growth has carried that change further. Southern and western Lantau keep different landscapes and ways in, and island communities still live by the ferries. So the district is two worlds side by side: global infrastructure next to small island places. Neither tells the whole story, and knowing both histories makes each richer to visit.

People and economy

Islands District had 185,282 residents in the 2021 Population Census. Many lived in Tung Chung; others lived in Lantau villages, Discovery Bay and on the smaller islands. Homes range from public and private estates to village houses and planned developments.

The airport brings jobs in aviation, cargo, logistics and related services, far more work than its small resident population would suggest. Hotels, transport and business developments serve the airport, while Tung Chung’s shops, schools and local services serve the town.

Elsewhere, fishing, restaurants, tourism and recreation play their part. Many islanders also commute by ferry or road to jobs away from home. The person leaving a pier may be off to work, school or a doctor’s appointment, not a day out.

For visitors, ferries bring atmosphere; for residents, they are how life works. Keep both in mind and a slow day out means more. Spend money in local businesses if you wish, respect people’s homes and let daily routines carry on around you. The islands are working communities as well as lovely scenery.

Getting there and around

Discovery Bay has its own links, and road access differs from one part of Lantau to another. GWO’s Getting Around Hong Kong guide covers ferries and rail. Pick one main island destination and let its transport shape the day.

For fares, cards and the wider network, see Getting around Hong Kong.