“Perhaps Hong Kong’s most unique feature is its nature. Against the backdrop of the city, the mountains provide the most spectacular views for those who climb high enough to see them.”
Three long time residents always enjoyed hiking in Hong Kong, but found themselves drawn to the city’s hiking trails even more, when COVID hit. Their phones full with the obligatory summit selfies, gathered around the signature black white trig station as proof that they reached the top, they became fascinated by Hong Kong’s trigs. Who put them there, do they still have a use and why do some of them look different than others?
When they started digging into the history of trigonometrical points, as they’re officially called, they learned that grouped together the many hilltop stations form a spiderweb. In the old days it was used to determine the exact position of all land boundaries, roads, railways, bridges in the territory. Although GPS systems have replaced the stations for surveying purposes, even today, these modest utilitarian pieces of infrastructure continue to serve as benchmarks to calibrate height and of course as navigational beacons for hikers.
As a memory of their many great Hong Kong hikes, they decided to create a miniature trig station; the ultimate hiking souvenir. Now there are 10 of them, one for each of Hong Kong’s most iconic peaks, six on the Islands [ Victoria Peak, Mount Butler, Lantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Twins and Shek O Peak ] and four in Kowloon and the New Territories [Pat Sing Leng, Tai Mo Shan, Ma On Shan and Kowloon Peak ]. Each souvenir does also includes a QR that shares some of their research, the stories of the peaks and not-to-miss info on the trig stations. They’re still fervent hikers, so who knows which peaks will be next?
Rolf - A outdoors aficionado and keen football player, for Rolf Hong Kong is all about the juxtaposition of concrete jungle and nature trails. Favourite peak: Pat Sing Leng (aka ‘8 Immortals’). When you make it to the first top, you can see the ridge with the peaks ahead of you and Shenzhen in the far distance. Mind blowing.
Chris - Loves cities and mountains, making HK the perfect home. Favourite peak: Sharp Peak in Sai Kung Country Park. The views, the variation in terrain and the finish along the beaches, jetting off like James Bond into the waves in one of the little fishing boats.
Ester - urban explorer, heritage enthusiast and fan of board games. Favourite peak: High Junk Peak in her Clearwater Bay backyard. The city feels so far away and yet so close.
