ABSTRACT
Although Hong Kong is internationally known as a finance and commercial city, it is a place full of nature. One specific topographical feature of Hong Kong is that it is dominated by hills and mountains. This chapter examines the development of domestic tourism in Hong Kong, with particular emphasis on nature tourism and eco-tourism. It elaborates on a popular native leisure activity called haang saan (haang means walk and saan means hill; a direct translation of the term is ‘walking [on] the hill’). 1 This term is used to include activities such as hiking, expedition and trail-walking. Not much has yet been written about this leisure pattern of the Hong Kong people. There are, indeed, scanty academic discussions about Hong Kong domestic tourism and holidaying patterns. The recent opening of a wetland park and its high-profile promotion as eco-tourism has aroused some interest in local eco-travels.
